WFHB Bloomington Community Radio
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The State Senate passed a bill to create special firearms training for teachers.
House Bill 1253 will require that teachers and staff members complete at least 40 hours of firearms training, before they can carry a firearm on campus. Faculty will also be required to pass a mental health assessment test, to prove they are fit to carry a firearm.
HB 1253, which passed on the Senate floor in a 32 – 14 vote, joins other Republican-backed legislation that aims to make schools safer, in response to last year’s school shootings in Noblesville and Richmond, Indiana. The minimum 40-hour firearms training will include weapon handling, training on when a firearm should and should not be used, as well as mental health and trauma training. Teachers and staff will also be required to complete eight additional hours of training, each year.
HB 1253 passed in a 72-25 vote, in the House of Representative, in February. The bill will return to the House briefly for concurrence, before heading to Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb’s desk.
