Pennsylvania School District Suspends Armed Teacher Policy In Midst Of Lawsuits

A Pennsylvania school district voted to suspend its armed teacher policy Tuesday in the midst of two lawsuits.

Tamaqua Area School Board voted 7-1 to not implement the policy Tuesday, according to WNEP.

The Tamaqua school district approved the policy in September 2018, where teachers and staff could carry district-issued guns after going through the appropriate training. Parents and the Tamaqua Area Education Association union filed separate lawsuits.

The parents’ lawsuit claimed the initiative “endangered their community” and broke state law. Pennsylvania allows trained school resource officers or school police on campuses, The Associated Press reported.

Board member Nicholas Boyle previously said the district did not receive push back from the state for arming teachers, however. The district is believed to be the first in the state to pass an armed teachers policy, according to The AP.

Boyle was the one member who wanted to keep the policy, WNEP reported.

“We’re just glad that they chose to make the right decision tonight, to suspend the policy until litigation is taken care of, and we’re just hopeful we can have our day in court and we can prove our case,” Tamaqua Area Education Association President Frank Wenzel said, WNEP reported.

Some parents were not happy with the vote, however. They wanted the policy revoked altogether, according to Penn Live.

Discussions of arming teachers intensified following the Parkland shooting on Feb. 14, 2018. President Donald Trump called on allowing school officials to carry guns after 17 people died in the Florida shooting. The Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Commission recommended arming teachers in a recent report.

Tamaqua Area School District and Tamaqua Area Education Association did not immediately respond to The Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.