Ohio House passes bill that would allow teachers to carry weapons in classroom

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WSYX) - A bill that would allow Ohio teachers to carry weapons in the classroom advanced in the statehouse Wednesday.

House Bill 99 advanced out of the Ohio House with a 58-33 vote.

The bill also requires school employees to complete concealed carry weapon training in order to carry a firearm on school property. Current law requires school employees to complete peace officer training, which is over 750 hours.

School boards will have the ability to determine any further requirements for employees.

Ohio Federation of Teachers President Melissa Cropper said they are against House Bill 99.

She said if passed, it could make the classroom even more dangerous with guns getting in the wrong hands.

"Having teachers armed in schools on a daily basis just leads to the possibility for accidents to happen, for guns to be used in situations that may be an active shooter for the wrong person to be shot," Cropper said.

She said the answer is to bring in more counselors and school resource officers to keep students and teachers safe.

"We continue to pile more and more responsibility upon the shoulders of teachers without increasing the amount of resources available to teachers, instead of getting at the root cause of the problems," Cropper said.

HB 99 was introduced in February and is sponsored by Rep. Thomas Hall, R-Madison Township.“This bill is about giving power to local officials to decide what is in the best interest of their schools,” Hall said. “In the end, we all want our students and educators to feel safe, and House Bill 99 accomplishes that.The bill will now move to the Senate.