A nonprofit publication of the Kentucky Center for Public Service Journalism

Joint legislative committee discusses schools safety, including arming teachers, metal detectors


By Tom Latek
Kentucky Today

School safety, a hot topic in the wake of recent shootings here in Kentucky and two weeks ago in Florida, was the topic of discussion during a presentation before a joint meeting of the House and Senate Education Committees.
 
The panel heard from William Modzeleski, a school safety consultant and former federal education official, along with Jon Akers, executive director of the Kentucky Center for School Safety.


Modzeleski told lawmakers school violence is preventable, but one problem is students don’t report suspicious behavior by their peers to school officials.

William Modzeleski, a school safety consultant, and Jon Akers, executive director of the Kentucky Center for School Safety. (Photo by Tom Latek, Kentucky Today


“Number one, they didn’t think it was going to happen,” he said.  “Number two, students don’t trust teachers, administrators, even their parents.  Number three, they didn’t think any action would be taken if they reported someone.”


Sen. Gerald Neal, D-Louisville, asked Modzeleski if arming teachers was the answer.  

“No way,” he responded. 


Modzeleski said arming teachers is different from bringing resources officers into schools.

“It gets into issues of training, of what we are supposed to be doing as educators.  It takes their eye off the ball of teaching what they have expertise in.  Their expertise is not on the firing range.”


Akers said hiring retired police officers is one option, since they have the training.


He also said another issue these days is a lack of respect for life.  

“With the violence we see 24/7, either on television, movie houses, whatever, kids are being desensitized.”


When asked by lawmakers what is the profile of a school shooter, Modzeleski said there isn’t one, that a study showed each one was different, except that they were all males.


Modzeleski suggested metal detectors should be used at random times and days at schools, even move them from school to school, so students wishing to bring a gun to school don’t learn a pattern of when it will in operation or not.


During an interview on WKDZ Radio on Thursday, Gov. Matt Bevin said he would reject any proposal to study the issue and do something later.


”I don’t think that’s appropriate. I think now is the time to take action,” Bevin said. “What if another tragedy were to happen because we were taking our time studying this?”


The fiercely debated idea of letting teachers carry guns in public schools has gained attention nationwide after the Kentucky shooting and another in Florida that killed 17 people. On Wednesday, a social studies teacher in Georgia barricaded himself in a classroom and fired a gun. No one was injured, but the gunshots prompted another chaotic lockdown and caused a fleeing student to injure her ankle.
 


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