After clearing the Missouri Senate, a school safety bill that would create an optional new security program for schools is now headed to the Missouri House for more debate.
The proposal, commonly referred to as the Missouri Rangers bill, is sponsored by state Sen. David Gregory, R-St. Louis County. Gregory says the measure is designed to give school districts a more focused approach to campus safety without requiring participation.
“This program is actually more difficult to qualify physically than it is to be a United States Marine,” Gregory said. “This is designed only for the more elite humans that want to protect schools. And the reason schools are supportive is because it’s optional. You don’t have to have a ranger.”
The bill would allow school districts to place Missouri Rangers in K-12 schools as a security presence separate from existing school resource officers. Participation would be voluntary, and districts would not be required to add armed security if they choose not to.
Training for the program would be provided through Missouri’s Peace Officer Standards and Training program, commonly known as POST. Gregory says the legislation allows districts flexibility in how they approach school security and training.
“You don’t have to have a ranger. You don’t have to have an armed security guard,” Gregory said. “You can have nobody. You can have a police officer. Your police officer, your student resource officer, can go get this additional training.”
One unresolved issue is the cost of training. The legislation does not specify who would pay, though Gregory said the bill is designed to allow local control.
“And the answer is anyone who wants to,” Gregory said. “If the school wants to pay for it, they can. If Grandpa just retired from the military at 50 years old and wants to go protect his grandson, granddaughter’s school, he can go get the training if he qualifies, and he can do it.”
During a Senate committee hearing on Senate Bill 905, one person spoke in opposition.
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