By Braden Schiller
Powell Tribune
Via- Wyoming News Exchange

POWELL — Two bills that would further the cause of eliminating schools as gun free zones, Senate File 86 and House Bill 125, passed their respective committees of the whole Friday to stay alive in the quick legislative session. 

If they are made into law, they would provide funding for schools to implement concealed carry programs for staff if the school so chooses (SF 86) and repeal gun free zones (HB 125). 

Both bills are co-sponsored by Rep. Rachel Rodriguez-Williams (R-Cody).

SF 86, school safety and security funding, proposes allocating $100,000 a year from the school foundation program and providing a path for donations “for costs related to possession of firearms on school property,” including training for school personnel. 

The account would provide funding for costs not already covered by existing laws. It would provide extra funding for a district such as Cody, which established a program in 2018 whereby trained and qualified faculty and staff are allowed to concealed carry. 

School districts could apply for reimbursements within one year and if the state fund is insufficient, “the department of education shall prorate the reimbursement among all approved school district applications in proportion to the amount of costs approved for reimbursement,” the bill reads. 

The bill allows for the department of education and school districts to put rules into effect in order to implement the act. 

A press release from Rodriguez-Williams’ office said that she cosponsored the bill to overcome price barriers that school districts have said prevents implementing concealed carry. 

“We never like to think about such terrible incidents happening in our schools. Even so, as a state, we have been forward-thinking to best prepare our educators and school officials to respond in the event of the worst. Senate File 86 goes a step further to ensure that school districts are financially positioned to keep our schools safe,” RodriguezWilliams said in the press release. 

Allowing funding for training at schools who choose to conceal carry is a good thing, Park County School District 1 Superintendent Jay Curtis said. 

“There are training requirements already embedded in the statute and so to actually provide some funding for that training makes a tremendous amount of sense. Good training is always good,” Curtis said. 

HB 125, repeal gun free zones and preemption amendments, would, as the name suggests, repeal gun free zones including in schools. The bill specifies that this would apply to “any public school, public college or university or professional athletic event taking place on public property.” 

Students would be prohibited from concealed carry in schools. 

“Just as all school districts will, we’ll have to consult with the state and attorneys will have to probably be involved to just break this down and tell us what schools can and can’t do with regards to concealed carry,” Curtis said. “… but on a common sense level, if we can’t restrict a parent from coming into the school with a firearm, I don’t know why we could restrict an employee from doing the same.”