Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the School Safety Concealed Carry topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Board advances draft rule under HB 172 to allow district employees and volunteers to carry on campus, sets training minimums
Summary
At a workshop, the Platte County School District #1 board reviewed a draft rule under House Bill 172 that would allow staff or volunteers who choose to carry on school property to do so if they meet district training and instructor‑approval requirements; the board will publish the draft for a 45‑day public comment period and revisit it before a final vote.
Speaker 2, a board member, opened the rulemaking discussion and said the board previously voted to start the rulemaking process for a draft tied to House Bill 172. "We voted to have the rule, the Rule making process," Speaker 2 said, and the draft must be published and offered for public comment before a final vote.
The draft the board reviewed follows the state model and sets training minima: "it has to be no less than 16 and at least 8 scenario based," Speaker 2 stated. Board members debated how those hours should be apportioned. Speaker 4 argued that live‑fire practice is critical because "we're adding a firearm to our classrooms," and emphasized repeated, hands‑on training to ensure competence with firearms in a school setting.
The draft places the cost of training on the employee or volunteer who chooses to carry. "This is gonna be on the teacher's expense," Speaker 2 said, and recurrent training likewise would be the individual's responsibility. Staff clarified the district would not provide the training as a district‑sponsored program and that professional instructors should deliver the courses.
Speaker 9 raised a series of implementation questions about volunteers and instructors, asking, "So who's going to maintain that list?" (referring to the approved instructor list). The draft requires instructor qualifications and states those qualifications are "subject to approval by local law enforcement," but board members debated whether that language creates an ongoing 'approved list' and who would administer it.
Board members also discussed scope and status for volunteers. The board’s working interpretation in the meeting was that anyone "around students" in a volunteer capacity must meet the requirements for volunteers, while district employees remain subject to the policy regardless of on‑duty status. The transcript records discussion that students are excluded by statute from carrying on school grounds.
Next steps: the board directed staff to publish the draft rule (the district will place a full notice in the paper and provide copies and an online link), accept written, electronic and verbal public comment during the 45‑day notice period, conduct a public hearing, and then consider any edits before a final vote (the board discussed scheduling a vote in September).
