US may allow schools to use federal money to buy guns
US Education Secretary Betsy Devos said Friday it is up to states whether to spend federal money to buy firearms as officials struggle to find ways to prevent school shootings.
That means, for the first time, federal education dollars could be used to buy guns, according to Washington Post.
“Let me be clear: I have no intention of taking any action concerning the purchase of firearms or firearms training for school staff” under federal education law, Devos said in a letter to Rep. Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (D-VA.).
Devos said Congress should determine whether the money can be spent on firearms.
“I will not legislate via fiat from the Department,” she wrote.
Officials in Texas and Oklahoma have asked the department to clarify whether money from an educational grant program can be used to buy firearms or provide gun training in an effort to make schools safer. But no explicit clarification is planned, department spokeswoman Elizabeth Hill said.
The use of taxpayer money for guns in schools has drawn criticism from Democrats, teacher unions, education groups and gun-control activists, who fear weapons in classrooms will make schools more dangerous, not safer. But President Donald Trump has argued arming teachers would “harden” schools, making them less likely targets for shootings.
Last week, department officials said the question of whether to allow grant money to be used for guns was under consideration. But on Friday, Devos said the agency will not take sides.
Experts said that by offering no guidance, the agency is clearing the way for states to spend the money on firearms for schools.
“If they are choosing not to issue the guidance, then that’s a signal to states that [states] could choose to approve those local requests,” said Nora Gordon, an associate professor of public policy at Georgetown University.
Governors and state education officials in New Jersey and Connecticut said Friday they would not permit federal education dollars to be spent on guns.
“New Jersey will not participate in this dangerous and misguided program, and I encourage the president to instead use our resources to better provide all of our children with the educational and innovative learning programs they deserve, not turn our classrooms into a war zone,” New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) said.
It was not clear whether more conservative states would allow the gun purchases.
Student Support and Academic Enrichment grants — known as Title IV-A — are distributed to states, which allocate the money after districts draft plans on how the money would be spent.
The statute that created the $1 billion program offers states considerable flexibility and, unlike another pot of federal money, does not ban use for firearm purchases.