LINCOLN- Nebraska's smallest school districts could authorize security staff to carry guns in schools and at school activities under one of the bills passed this week. The provision allowing firearms in certain schools was part of LB1329, a package of education measures that passed 40-0. The bill also includes measures that would allow schools to use construction dollars for safety infrastructure and would ease requirements for teacher training.

The initial version of the firearms provision, introduced State Sen. Tom Brewer of Gordon, would have applied to all school districts in the state. The measure generated stiff opposition, particularly from the state’s most populous areas. To reduce the opposition, Brewer worked with Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh of Omaha on a compromise that limited the bill’s application to districts with fewer than 5,000 residents.

The compromise measure will apply to 192 of the state’s 244 public school districts but only affect about 68,000 of the state’s 328,000 K-12 students, he said. It would be up to each district to decide whether to make use of the new flexibility. Brewer has said larger schools generally have school resource officers, who can carry firearms.

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