WINTER HAVEN, Fla. (AP) — President Donald Trump’s proposal to arm teachers in the wake of the Parkland school shooting has met with opposition from many teachers and students, but Polk County’s sheriff created a program doing just that two years ago.
Southeastern University adopted Sheriff Grady Judd’s “Sentinel Program” in 2016, offering 132 hours of training so teachers or faculty could become special sheriff’s deputies and legally carry concealed weapons on campus. Webber International University also adopted the program but so far they are the only institutions that have bitten.
Judd’s little-known pilot program is also the blueprint Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey used to develop a similar program. If adopted, the initiative could add armed staff at 96 Space Coast public and charter schools.
Florida Today reports the Brevard School Board has not yet made a decision.
Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.