Scott signed Florida Senate bill 7026 into law despite opposition from the ALA and AASL and other organizations.

Florida Governor Rick Scott
Photo Credit Meredyth Hope Hall
The
American Library Association (ALA) and
American Association of School Librarians (AASL)–along with the Florida teachers union and superintendents association and NAACP—tried but failed to keep Governor Rick Scott from passing a law that will allow librarians and other school staff (excluding classroom teachers) to carry firearms in public schools. Scott signed the bill Friday despite his opposition to the school guardian program in the bill that allows some school personnel to carry concealed weapons on campus, according to the Miami Herald, which reported that family members of all 17 Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School victims signed a statement supporting passage of the legislation that imposes new gun restrictions in the state. The ALA and AASL did not publicly comment on the bill being signed into law. When asked for comment or an interview, a spokesperson emailed a copy of an earlier statement released the day before the bill’s signing and asking the governor to to listen to the recommendations of the state’s educators and not “undermine the sense of security that is critical to students.” The presidents of the ALA and AASL had issued the joint statement. The Florida Education Association had asked the governor to use a line veto to keep the guardian program out of the law. The state superintendents association and NAACP also publicly opposed that portion of the bill. “The ALA and AASL support the efforts of
Florida Association for Media in Education (FAME) and
Florida Library Association to provide safe and accessible learning spaces for students and learners of all ages,” Jim Neal (ALA) and Steven Yates (AASL) said in the statement released as educators and people on both sides of the gun control debate awaited Scott’s action. “School librarians work with classroom teachers to provide instruction integral to the curriculum and offer additional informal learning opportunities for students. School librarians are invaluable teachers who offer an enriching learning environment for students and colleagues throughout the school. Firearms in our school libraries, as in any other classroom, will undermine the sense of security that is critical to students and divert school librarian attention away from the core focus of student learning. “While we are all too aware of the gun violence that affects the communities that we serve, including our schools, we do not believe that allowing the arming of school librarians with guns is the answer to preventing violence and mass shootings. Schools need more resources, including the expertise of a certified school librarian for teaching and learning. “We strongly encourage Governor Rick Scott and the Florida state legislature to honor the recommendations of FAME and other statewide teaching organizations regarding SB 7026.” The "Coach Aaron Feis Guardian Program," which is the part of the bill that would allow some teachers to volunteer to be armed, is named for the Majory Stoneman Douglas High School assistant football coach who was killed in the February 14 school shooting. Enacting the program would be at the discretion of a local sheriff, according to the bill, and any staff members who volunteers to be a "school guardian" and carry a firearm must take more than 130 hours of training, pass a psychological evaluation and drug test and successfully complete at least 12 hours of a certified "nationally recognized diversity training program" before gaining the school guardian certificate. There would then be ongoing training, weapon checks and annual firearm qualification, as well as random drug tests.
Get Print. Get Digital. Get Both!
Libraries are always evolving. Stay ahead.
Log In.