Georgia state Representative Tom Dickson (R Cohutta)Though the Georgia General Assembly hasn’t yet convened in 2013, a proposed law to arm school principals already is receiving skepticism from some North Georgia educators and lawmakers.
Since the December killing of 20 students and six adults in a Connecticut elementary school, states and school districts have looked for ways to beef up security and prevent another such disaster. Tennessee lawmakers have proposed adding more school resource officers and pitched the idea of allowing teachers to carry concealed weapons.
Georgia Rep. Paul Battles, R-Cartersville, has filed one of several gun bills in the Assembly. His bill would allow local boards of education to approve one or more administrators to carry firearms at schools, school functions and on buses.
But allowing weapons in schools has raised many more questions about school safety.
“Most teachers and most administrators want to focus on educating the kids,” said Dade County Schools Superintendent Shawn Tobin.