Oklahoma House panel OKs bill allowing armed teachers

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- Oklahoma school districts could authorize teachers who take a 120-hour training course to bring handguns into classrooms under a bill that has passed a House committee.

READ:  House Bill 1062 (http://bit.ly/V9PGVZ)

The bill by Sapulpa Republican Mark McCullough passed Wednesday through the House Public Safety Committee. The same panel approved an earlier version of the bill with a minimum of 240 hours of training, but McCullough amended it to lower that requirement.

He said the program is completely voluntary and that individual districts would develop policies for training and other requirements. The bill is opposed by many teachers and education officials, who have raised safety and liability concerns over bringing more firearms into schools. If approved by the House Calendar Committee, the bill proceeds to the full House.