Education Secretary Betsy DeVos is mulling a plan that would allow states to use federal funds to purchase guns for teachers, The New York Times reports, citing multiple people with knowledge of the plan.
The plan would overturn the longstanding federal government policy of not paying for weapons in schools and would make use of a government program that makes no mention of providing firearms to teachers. That program, the Student Support and Academic Enrichment Program, is designed to increase access to education, improve conditions for learning and bolster digital literacy, according to a government website.
The Education Department would characterize the new plan as improving conditions for learning, basing that assessment on research it has conducted, the Times wrote.
DeVos could approve grant funding under the program to provide states or districts with funds for firearms. Congress passed a school safety bill in March that prohibited funding "for the provision to any person of a firearm or training in the use of a firearm." It could block the plan, but it would be required to clarify the language of the student support program or pass new legislation, according to the report.
A spokesperson for the department declined to confirm the report but said the agency is "constantly considering and evaluating policy issues, particularly issues related to school safety."
The plan would overturn the longstanding federal government policy of not paying for weapons in schools and would make use of a government program that makes no mention of providing firearms to teachers. That program, the Student Support and Academic Enrichment Program, is designed to increase access to education, improve conditions for learning and bolster digital literacy, according to a government website.
The Education Department would characterize the new plan as improving conditions for learning, basing that assessment on research it has conducted, the Times wrote.
DeVos could approve grant funding under the program to provide states or districts with funds for firearms. Congress passed a school safety bill in March that prohibited funding "for the provision to any person of a firearm or training in the use of a firearm." It could block the plan, but it would be required to clarify the language of the student support program or pass new legislation, according to the report.
A spokesperson for the department declined to confirm the report but said the agency is "constantly considering and evaluating policy issues, particularly issues related to school safety."
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