An Ohio bill that will drastically reduce the number of training hours required to carry concealed in Ohio schools is headed for the Governor’s desk after passing through the Senate today.
Teachers, custodians, and bus drivers must complete 728 hours of training to carry a firearm in Ohio schools. This includes at least 8 hours of concealed carry training. HB99 passed through the Ohio Senate today by a vote of 23-9 and is headed to Gov. Mike DeWine’s desk.
A previous version of the bill passed through the Ohio House in Nov. 2021. It proposed 20 hours of training a year with an extra 4 hours every year after.
728 hours is the same amount required by required of peace officers. How exactly would a bus driver find the time to take 728 hours of training?
728 hours is about 30.3 days. That’s if you were training around the clock. That’s not going to happen, so let’s say you were training for 10 hours a day. That would come just short of 73 days of training. We have 52 weeks a year, giving us 104 weekend days a year. That’s about 70% of your weekend days a year to get enough training to meet the current requirements. Rob Sexton of Buckeye Firearms Association said, basically, no one would sign up for it.
“You might as well put in the bill, ‘we don’t want anybody signing up for this program,’ because that’s the reality. 150 hours’ worth of training means there will not be armed staff in the school,” said Rob Sexton – via WOSU.
Sen. Rob McColley had a good point. What about schools that can’t afford armed protection?
“What we’re doing here is offering schools the flexibility to craft a solution that they feel is right for their buildings, schools, and students,” said Sen. Rob McColley (R-Napoleon). “We have to remember if you’re in the city, you may have a uniformed officer who is in your building every day. But I can assure you that is not the case in many areas of Ohio, in areas where help may be many minutes away.” via FOX19
So what do you think? Is allowing teachers and faculty to be armed part of the solution? If so, how much training should they have? More than your regular concealed carry class? This bill still wouldn’t allow parents to carry guns on campus whether they had a concealed carry permit or not. On June 13, 2022, Ohio will become a constitutional carry state. Why should I, as a parent, not be able to carry concealed when picking up and dropping off my child? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.
I firmly believe if your state is a Constitutional Carry state, there should be no restrictions on where you can carry! Other than a courthouse or “correctional” facility, you should be allowed to carry everywhere!
That’s sensible. Real training, scenarios and best practices at a minimum. There’s a Lot involved with this stuff people never thought of and need to be aware of. Believe me when you look down that barrel at some dude you’ll be thinking more please don’t make me than make my day. You really should be WELL VERSED on the rules of the road Not 700 hours worth but a few evening 3 hr sessions would make them far safer and more educated.
A yearly refresher , something like a good ol boy range session wouldn’t be bad either. Even guys like me who toted a shootin iron 30 years on the job get embarrassingly rusty. It doesn’t take much to reorient but after a couple years you’ll notice the loss yourself if you are honest.