ELIZABETHTON, Tenn. (WJHL) — Carter County’s top school and law enforcement officials are taking a united front in support of a measure that would allow teachers who already have a concealed carry permit to bring a handgun into their classroom.
The controversial bill passed the state Senate last week and has drawn concern from some local school leaders.
Both Carter County Director of Schools Brandon Carpenter and Sheriff Mike Fraley told News Channel 11 they would sign off on a concealed carry permit for the system, as long as the Board of Education supported it.
“If the Board of Education in Carter County supported that idea, then that would, that’s the direction we would go,” Carpenter said.
Before a teacher could carry a gun on campus, local school systems and law enforcement would have to agree to begin the program for their districts, according to the bill.
“If they want to adopt it, we’ll be ready for it,” Fraley said. “If they don’t, we have officers in the schools, but either way, we’re prepared to move forward with it.”
Each individual teacher wanting to carry in class would have to secure written permission from their director of schools or superintendent, their school principal and the head of their local law enforcement agency. They would also have to complete 40 hours of school policing training each year.
Fraley said that training would be similar to what the county’s school resource officers undergo.
“We want to take a very hands-on approach, so somebody just can’t bring a piece of paper that [says] ‘I’ve had training,'” Fraley said. “We want to see what that training is and we want to provide that training for those teachers.”
Though Fraley and Carpenter are working closely to ensure safety across the district, they said we’re a long way from seeing any teachers being armed.
“You involve the Board of Education and, of course, the sheriff’s department,” Carpenter said. “We would weigh in our options and then develop policy and procedures from that point.”
