Bill Passes Through State House Allowing for Guns Loaded With Projectiles During Teacher Active Shooter Training
APRIL 10TH, 2019 
AMANDA PORTER INDIANA
A controversial bill involving arming Indiana teachers with guns in schools is moving forward in the state senate. The now amended House Bill 1235 adds a provision of using projectile bullets involuntary teacher active shooter training. This comes just a few weeks after several teachers were injured during an active shooter training session in Monticello, Indiana.
Indiana teachers would have to volunteer for active shooter training under house bill 12-35. Now some Hoosiers lawmakers say adding a realistic factor to the training drills like projectile bullets could help teachers prepare for that extremely scary moment when they possibly come face to face with a school shooter.
Three schools in Indiana have reportedly opted in through their school boards to use guns with projectile bullets in active shooter safety drills. Thisdecisions is certainly causing controversy across the Hoosier state.
Several weeks ago an active shooter training session in Monticello, Indiana went awry when several teachers were hurt from those projectile bullets.
“The sheriff said those people opted into the training aware of what was going to happen so not to dispel it, just to clarify,†says Indiana District 27 Senator Jeff Raatz.
Lawmakers say one school wanted to use the projectile bullets to make the training feel as realistic as possible.
“If they choose to do it because when I use to word realistic i am talking about emotions and adrenaline and as much reality that they could possibly be subjected to in the training,†says Sen. Raatz.
It’s that training lawmakers hope some teachers would step up to prepare for a stressful situation.
“There is a mental health piece that has got to be gone through and that is before we ever get to this point. So there are plenty of safeguards in place to identify those are capable and not just willing, but capable,†says Raatz.
Teachers would also need to sign paperwork to opt into the training.
Raatz says, “should an active shooter enter the school or whatever that protocol is and then if the school has sanctioned it, now you got people that are trained and willing and have volunteered and prepared mentally to take on the task. It’s not pretty, and it’s not for everybody.â€
House Bill 1235 is still up for debate, and could see more amendments.
comments
