NC Bill Would Gives Raises To Armed Teachers

The Raleigh News & Observer reports:

There’s a new push to allow North Carolina teachers to carry guns in school that some state lawmakers think has a chance of being approved this year. The School Security Act of 2019 would boost the salaries of teachers who underwent specialized police training to carry firearms on campus.

The same bill was filed last year and died in committee, but Sen. Jerry Tillman, one of the new sponsors of Senate Bill 192, said that the climate has changed to give the legislation more support this year.

The School Security Act would offer a 5 percent salary boost to up to 3,000 teachers who complete the state’s training programs and become “teacher resource officers.” These teacher resource officers would have the same arrest powers on campus as a school resource officer, who is a certified law enforcement officer assigned to work in schools.

The bill allocates over $9 million for the coming school year to cover training and raises for the teachers. No word on where the guns will come from. Tillman is also the author of North Carolina’s voter ID bill.