House Bill 1087 allows school districts to train teachers and other school personnel to carry guns while at work and is now a state law. Governor Dennis Daugaard signed the legislation Friday morning. It was a controversial bill while making its way through the legislative process. Supporters of the bill say it’s necessary for rural schools that are many miles from emergency responders, but opponents say it puts students at greater risk. Daugaard says the sentinel program is optional, and sentinels must be trained by law enforcement.
“I’m comfortable having a sentinel armed in a school. My children went to a school where there was an armed law enforcement officer in the school. Any sentinel would have to have the same kind of training that that law enforcement person had,” Daugaard says.
Daugaard says like most legislation, he has had people contact him urging him to support the bill, while others asked him not to. The legislation goes into effect July 1st.