DeSantis signs bill allowing more armed teachers
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) - Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed a bill that will allow more classroom teachers to carry guns in school, a response to last year's mass shooting at a Parkland high school.
DeSantis signed the bill in private Wednesday and issued no statement. It was one of the more contentious bills of a legislative session that ended Saturday.
The measure expands an existing school "guardian" program and allows any teacher to volunteer to carry a weapon if their local school district approves.
Volunteers must undergo police-style training and psychiatric evaluation.
Under current law, only teachers who also have another role such as sports coach are eligible to carry weapons on campus.
The bill makes other changes to a school safety law enacted after 17 people were killed in February 2018 at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.