Survey: Texas teachers back gun reforms

A majority of Texas school teachers and employees don’t want to carry a firearm into the classroom or confront a school shooter, according to a statewide survey released by a teacher’s union.

The survey, conducted by the Texas American Federation of Teachers, or AFT, found that 77 percent of K-12 teachers and school employees said they were not comfortable being armed, while 23 percent said they were.

The teacher’s union said 5,100 K-12 teachers and school employees, parents, community leaders and higher education employees participated in the survey, which was conducted a week after the school shooting in Uvalde on May 24 that took the lives of 19 students and two fourth-grade teachers at Robb Elementary School. The survey was released last week.

The number of respondents who were K-12 teachers or school employees was 4,610, including counselors, paraprofessional educators, nurses, food service workers and bus drivers.

Tom Cummins, president of the Bexar County AFT, said the survey confirms what he has been hearing from local teachers and school employees.

“Our members don’t want to be armed,” said Cummins, whose union represents teachers and school employees in both the South San Antonio and North East independent school districts. “Teachers didn’t go into teaching to be a security guard; they want to be teachers.”

The timing of the survey comes as several state leaders, including Gov. Greg Abbott, have suggested increasing the number of marshal programs in school districts across Texas, according to the Texas Tribune.