BENEWAH COUNTY, Idaho — Some teachers and staff at St. Maries Joint School District in North Idaho will be allowed to carry concealed firearms at school starting next year.
The rural district, located about an hour southeast of Coeur d’Alene, developed the policy over the past year with input from parents and staff.
“There will be a screening process, there’s an application, interviews,” said Dr. Teresa Rensch, Superintendent of St. Maries Joint School District.
Staff who want to carry weapons must complete at least 40 hours of training and receive approval from the school board, superintendent and their building principal.
“We have local law enforcement that will be a part of the screening and interview process and recommendation to carry. All of those certificates of training would need to be on file,” Rensch explained.
The district will not disclose which staff members are carrying weapons, even to parents.
Dr. Rensch initially had reservations about the policy but changed her mind due to St. Maries’ rural location and concerns about emergency response times.
“When the policy was first adopted back in February, and had what we called information meetings so parents could come back up or community members and staff could come back up now that it’s in place, let’s talk about what that means and looks like,” she said.
St. Maries isn’t the first Idaho district to implement such a policy. Fifteen other school districts across the state already have similar concealed carry policies.
Despite the new policy, Dr. Rensch emphasized that creating a supportive environment remains the district’s primary focus.
“Making sure that they know they’re important and that they’re seen. That’s exactly what we’re looking for. Every student to feel that they’re seen, they’re connected, they’re important,” Rensch said.
The school board will review applications during executive sessions. Dr. Rensch doesn’t expect most staff members to apply for the program.
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