Anyone's Guess: Texas School District Arms Its Teachers, but No One Knows Who's Packing

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It’s a question several years old — should teachers be armed?

A Texas school system offers a recent reply: If they’re inclined to be, then yes.

The Grand Saline Independent School District is in its second week of employees holstering heat.

Speaking to the New York Post, Superintendent Micah Lewis laid out the lead-up:

“Every time there was a school shooting, me and the board talked about it again. If some crazy came in here, could we minimize the damage by being armed?”

It’s a query every school should pose. For that matter, it’s a pressing one for every home.

But despite the advent of the internet, ours doesn’t appear to be an age of information. Rather, we’re navigating an era of narrative.

According to many on TV and online, guns are exclusively instruments of evil.

We hear lots about crimes employing them; stories of defense avoid national news.

But periodically, 2A heroism gets heralded:

Two Killed in Deadly Shooting at Texas Church, Gunman Stopped by Armed Security

Philadelphia Man Shoots Looter After an Armed Crew Breaks Into His Gun Shop

Robber Chokes Woman, Her Young Son Shoots Him in the Face

Pistol-Packin’ Granny: 79-Year-Old Arms Herself, Tells Home Invader, ‘I Got Something for You!’

No-Nonsense Grandma Shoots Diddlin’ Flasher

If things go south in Grand Saline, officials want schools to have a fighting chance.

Of course, not even all conservatives favor teachers toting Tauruses. What if there’s a misfire? What if a staffer’s gun is taken? How will defenders be sufficiently trained?

The Post reports:

District employees who are interested in becoming guardians must apply for the program and go through a screening and training with the Texas Department of Public Safety, [Superintendent Micah] explained. They must complete 40 hours of training initially and additional hours on a continuous basis. The staffers must also have a license to carry.

So goes the “Guardian Plan,” active at the elementary, intermediate, middle and high school.

They aren’t alone — Grand Saline joins 300 other Texas school systems in equipping faculty with firearms.

And it’s anyone’s guess who’s locked and loaded:

No one knows which teachers or staff members are armed — and [Micah] says that’s intentional. The guardian keeps possession of the firearm at all times and the weapons are not stored on campus.

Per Education Week, there’ve been 103 school shootings in the last four years — 34 in 2021.

In gearing up, academics face the prospect of firing on a student shooter.