BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) - North Dakota education officials are seeking public input on new rules that have been created to govern a program to that will allow armed first responders to be in schools.
The North Dakota Department of Public Instruction is hosting a meeting at 9:30 a.m. Monday at the Capitol to hear from the public, the Bismarck Tribune reported.
The Legislature passed a law earlier this year that allows a school board to designate an armed first responder to carry or have access to a concealed weapon at a specific school.
Under the proposed rules, an armed first responder can’t be a teacher or anyone with direct supervision of children at a school. Among other requirements, the first responder must have training equivalent to a law enforcement officer or be retired from law enforcement for three years or less, must complete a physical and mental health evaluation and must be trained in crisis management and advanced first aid.
State Superintendent Kirsten Baesler said in a statement that many rural schools asked for the program. She said these schools usually don’t have law enforcement officers nearby, and the armed first responder program could provide an isolated school with a means of defense against a possible outside attack.
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