Mellette school is 2nd in state to approve armed staffers

MELLETTE, S.D. (AP) - A school in Mellette is the second in South Dakota to allow approved employees to carry guns.

The American News reports (https://bit.ly/2t3nevE ) that the Northwestern Area School Board approved the move unanimously this month.

South Dakota lawmakers passed a school sentinel law in 2013, a few months after the deadly Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Connecticut.

The Tri-Valley School District last summer became the first district in the state to take advantage of the law.

Teachers or staff members need to go through an application process, including a mental health evaluation, and take the same training that law officers do before they can be a school sentinel.

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Information from: Aberdeen American News, https://www.aberdeennews.com