DES MOINES, Iowa — School staff in Iowa can now technically have guns on school grounds after a new law enacted by Gov. Kim Reynolds last week.
The law allows trained school staff to carry a firearm on campus, and it went into effect immediately after the governor's signature. Now, school districts across the state will have to decide how they will implement the legislation.
Local 5 reached out to several districts across the Des Moines metro, asking if they will consider participating. Those districts include:
- Ankeny Community School District
- Dallas Center-Grimes Community School District
- Des Moines Public Schools
- Johnston Community School District
- Southeast Polk Community School District
- Urbandale Community School District
- Waukee Community School District
- West Des Moines Community School District
A spokesperson for DMPS told Local 5 the district "does not have an interest in allowing teachers and staff to be armed in our school buildings," and that they will also not be employing School Resource Officers.
The district added, "DMPS has invested significant funds over the years in a range of security measures ... and will continue to support such responsible measures for the safety and well-being of our students and staff."
"Our school board’s Policy Committee will meet this week and discuss how they would like to move forward," Johnston schools said in a statement.
EMC Insurance, which covers many school districts across Iowa, has also advised the district that it would be "cost prohibitive to allow guns in school buildings."
School Resource Officers, or SROs, are currently employed at both Johnston Middle and High School.
Dallas-Center Grimes Community School District is also in the preliminary stages of making a decision. A spokesperson told Local 5, "No decisions have been made at this time ... There are important discussions that our district needs to have before any decision will be made."
The district currently has one School Resource Officer from the Polk County Sheriff's Office.
Ankeny Community School District told Local 5 its still reviewing the law's language before making any official calls. It currently employs two School Resource Officers in partnership with Ankeny police.
Urbandale plans to recommend not allowing armed staff in schools on May 6, 2024, telling Local 5, "Although our enrollment is less than 8,000 students, UCSD already employs an SRO at the high school and intends to continue this partnership with the Urbandale Police Department. The safety, security, and well-being of students and staff continue to be our top priorities."
Waukee Community School District shared the following statement:
"We are not interested in allowing our staff to be armed, other than law enforcement, but we'll take this to the School Board in May to discuss. We will be communicating about the new law with staff in our internal newsletter next week. We already have SROs and intend to continue employing them (and may even expand as we open more secondary buildings)."
Local 5 will update this story as additional school districts respond to our request for comment.