46 Ohio schools have armed teachers and staff: Here's what parents need to know

Editor's note: An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated the location of Manchester Local School District. It is in Adams County and Highland Local Schools in Morrow County.

A year after Ohio lowered its minimum training hours for arming school staff, 46 districts submitted rosters.

The names of teachers and school personnel carrying guns are not public records, nor are the total number of armed staff in each district. But a list of participating schools was provided by the Ohio Department of Public Safety.

Their locations revealed a divide between the state's three largest urban counties where no schools signed up and the rural ones like Belmont, Logan and Tuscarawas counties where four schools registered per county.

“This is a local choice, not mandated by the legislature nor by the government," Gov. Mike DeWine said after he signed HB 99 into law. "Each school board will determine what is best for their students, their staff, and their community."

More: Ohio Gov. DeWine set to sign bill requiring only 24 hours of training for teachers to carry firearms

Rural vs urban

Columbus, Cincinnati, Akron, Cleveland, Dayton and Toledo school districts all voted against letting teachers carry guns since DeWine signed House Bill 99 in September 2022.

And a lot of suburban districts have followed suit. But the story is different in rural areas where money for resource officers is low and emergency response times are high.

For example, the Hardin-Houston School District in Shelby County occupies a single building for kindergarten through 12th grade and has approximately 825 students.

"We do not have a local police department, and in the event of an active shooter or armed intruder situation, we are at the mercy of these individuals until a sheriff’s deputy or Ohio State patrolman is dispatched," Superintendent Ryan Maier said in November 2021. "In our part of Ohio that could amount to at least fifteen minutes and will most definitely result in deceased and/or injured students and staff members."

Maier asked lawmakers to lower Ohio's required training hours for armed staff from about 700 down to 24.

"I implore you to once again allow local boards of education the ability to properly protect their students and staff members in the way their community members see fit," he said.

The drop down to 24 hours might seem huge, but Rep. Thomas Hall, R-Madison Twp., has said that's because lawmakers never approved the 700 hours.

That number came from the Ohio Supreme Court, which decided in June 2021 that an earlier law meant teachers who wanted to carry guns had to complete peace officer training.

More: Read the court's decision in Gabbard v. Madison Local School Board District

What does training now require?

HB 99 created the Ohio School Safety and Crisis Center within the Department of Public Safety.

It's headed by Emily Torok, who was tasked with developing a training program for districts that wanted to arm staff and approving other third-party programs for districts that wanted alternatives.

"We reach out to the training program and get their curriculum and review to see if it meets all the requirements under Ohio Revised Code," Ohio Department of Public Safety spokesman Jay Carey said. "The School Safety Center is the one that makes that determination."

Under the law, school employees need up to 24 hours of initial training, then up to eight hours of requalification training annually. Here's what it must include:

• scenario-based training

• mitigation techniques

• de-escalation techniques

• tactics for responding to critical incidents

• how to neutralize potential threats and active shooters

• tactical live firearm training

Democrats, the Ohio Federation of Teachers, and the Ohio Fraternal Order of Police have all said the new 24-hour minimum is not enough. Florida, for example, requires 144 hours.

What am I allowed to know?

Ohio law requires districts to notify parents when it authorizes "one or more persons to go armed within a school," but their names are not public records.

Schools and teachers can decide to disclose this information to parents, Carey said. "If you’re concerned, talk to your administration of your schools."

Overall percentage

The majority of Ohio's public and private schools aren't arming their staff. According to the Ohio Department of Education, the state has 611 public school districts and 324 community (charter) schools.

Of all of those types of schools, just 46 have submitted armed personnel rosters. And we don't know whether all schools within those districts have staff carrying guns or just some buildings. Those details aren't public records.

Anna Staver is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio.

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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: 46 Ohio schools have chosen to arm their teachers and staff