Betsy DeVos eyes federal education grants to pay for putting guns in schools
WASHINGTON — The Education Department is considering whether to allow states to access federal funding set aside for academic enrichment and student services to buy guns for educators, according to multiple people with knowledge of the plan.
Such a move would reverse a longstanding position taken by the federal government that it should not pay to outfit schools with weapons. As recently as March, Congress passed a school safety bill that allocated $50 million a year to school districts, but expressly prohibited the use of the money for firearms.
But the department is eyeing a program in federal education law, the Student Support and Academic Enrichment grants, that makes no mention of prohibiting weapons purchases. That omission would allow the education secretary, Betsy DeVos, to use her discretion to approve or deny any state or district plans to use grant funding for firearms and firearm training, unless Congress clarifies the law or bans such funding.
“The department is constantly considering and evaluating policy issues, particularly issues related to school safety,” said Liz Hill, a spokeswoman for the Education Department. “The secretary nor the department issues opinions on hypothetical scenarios.”
The $1 billion student support program, part of the Every Student Succeeds Act, is intended for academic and enrichment opportunities in the country’s poorest schools and calls for school districts to use the money toward three goals: providing a well-rounded education, improving school conditions for learning and improving the use of technology for digital literacy.
Tapping that fund for weaponry spurred swift action Thursday morning in Congress. Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., introduced an amendment to a funding bill up for a final vote that would block the Department of Education from allowing school districts to using federal funds for firearms.
“I’m introducing legislation today to block the arming of teachers, and I do so knowing that earlier this year, Democrats and Republicans in Congress came together to pass a bill that expressly opposed putting guns in the hands of teachers,” Mr. Murphy said. “Congress doesn’t think this is a good idea. Parents don’t think this is a good idea. Teachers don’t think this is a good idea.”
The ranking Democrat on the House Education Committee, Rep. Robert Scott of Virginia, said granting state requests to use federal funds for firearms would be “openly violating the spirit of the law as well as common sense about gun safety.”
“Redirecting that money to arm teachers and school staff will recklessly endanger the safety of both students and educators, while robbing underserved students of the support and opportunity they deserve,” Mr. Scott said.
But the fate of Mr. Murphy’s amendment was uncertain. Republicans who created the fund that would be tapped were hesitant to curb the flexibility it offers local governments.
“I’m not a fan of arming teachers, but the safe schools block grant for many years has allowed states to make the decision about how to use those federal dollars to make schools safer for children,” said Sen. Lamar Alexander, the Tennessee Republican who was one of the chief architects of the new education law.