Standing Their Ground

The Carbon County School District No. 2 (CCSD2) Board of Trustees are in a race to complete their concealed-carry rule draft before the Wyoming State Legislature potentially passes a law on "enhanced concealed-carry."

In a world where school is no longer a safe haven for children, changing times are forcing schools in Wyoming to come up with rules-not policies-to protect the children from the terrorism of school shootings.

Rules, Policies and Laws

On December 4, a committee met to discuss the possibility of creating a Personnel Authorized Firearms Rule for the district. The committee started with a rule from Uinta County School District No. 1 and discussed desired additions, according to the agenda for the December 16, 2024 CCSD2 Board of Trustees meeting.

Under Wyoming State Statute 21-3-132-which was established by House Bill 194 in 2017-school districts may adopt rules allowing district employees to concealed-carry on school property.

Five drafts were presented for the boards perusal: CKA Firearms Policy Draft; CKA-R1 Draft Application; CKa-R2 Draft Firearms and Holster Requirements; CKA-R3 Draft School Safety and Security Firearms and CKA-R4 Draft Personnel Authorized to Carry Training Requirements.

While CCSD2 is working on their draft, which only allows school district employees to have a conceal-carry permit which must be approved by the superintendent and school board, the legislature has introduced Senate File 37. The bill, if it were to become law, would allow any member of the public with an enhanced carry permit to enter the school with a conceal-carry weapon.

The CCSD2 policy also limited the caliber and type of gun that can be used in the school.

Senate File 37 reads:

(n) A person who possesses a valid enhanced concealed carry permit under this section may, in addition to all other locations authorized by law, carry a concealed weapon into:

(i) Any school, college or professional athletic event not related to firearms, except that employees shall remain subject to W.S. 21‑3‑132;

(ii) Any elementary or secondary school facility, except that employees shall remain subject to W.S. 21‑3‑132;

(iii) Any college or university facility.

The sponsor for Senate FIle 37, Senator Ed Cooper (R - Ten Sleep), said the idea for the bill came from a "really strong gun advocate" from the Bighorn Basin, according to original reporting from the Wyoming Tribune Eagle. The constituent, said Cooper, wanted to be able to concealed-carry when he dropped his son off at school. Senator Wendy Schuler (R - Evanston) told the Wyoming Tribune Eagle she viewed the bill as a compromise between potential confusion for law enforcement in the event of a school shooting and parents who wanted the ability to concealed-carry in schools to protect their children.

According to https://wyomingdci.wyo.gov/criminal-justice-information-services-cjis/concealed-firearm-permits, 30,000 people in Wyoming currently have concealed carry permits. To apply for a permit in Wyoming, it is currently a $64 fee. Senate File 37 establishes $50 for an enhanced concealed carry permit, but it is not clear whether that is on top of the $64 fee.

CCSD2, in their proposed CKA rule, only allows persons who are employees and they must be employed for at least five continuous years before they will be considered for a concealed carry permit. If the employee has been with the school district for less than five years, they must submit a written request asking the board for a waiver. The application also provides that the employee must be in good standing with the school district.

Local Control

School board members have asked for local control for their districts and for a good reason: it is not a one-law-fixes-all situation.

Since the Gun Free Zone Act of 1990, there have been more than 1,453 school shootings between 1997 and 2022 according to the American Academy of Pediatrics in March 2024 (https://publications.aap.org/journal-blogs/blog/28390/Trends-in-School-Shootings-Over-the-Past-25-Years). Not only have the shootings increased over the years, the number of dead have doubled from 2013-2022. It should be noted that the increase came following the expiration of the Federal Assault Weapons Ban in 2004.

Senate File 37 requires not less than eight hours of training and firing 98 rounds of live ammunition in training. It also includes a self defense course and is taught face-to-face with the trainer and the applicant in the same room.

CCSD2 requires annual training of no less than 12 hours of handgun training with live fire and eight hours of scenario-based training that is approved by local law enforcement and meets the training requirement CKA-R4.

That training includes 16 hours of handgun training with live fire which includes but is not limited to the following: equipment selection, wear, use, and maintenance to ensure safety, retention of the firearm, and deep concealment. Training also includes firearms safety-including specific safety features and functions of the selected firearm-and loading, reloading, unloading, and function checks under all conditions.

Required training also includes: stance, grip, draw and presentation of the firearm from concealment; use of ready positions; identification and proper use of cover and concealment; techniques for engaging multiple adversaries; "failure to stop" drills; weapon retention; weapon malfunctions and remedial action; extensive firing drills demonstrating practical accuracy at realistic ranges; completion of the WLEA Close Range Pistol Proficiency Course at or above the 80% standard required of law enforcement trainees and Shoot/No Shoot Training.

The second requirement of training includes a minimum of eight hours scenario-based training using non-lethal training firearms such as Airsoft, UWTM or Simunitions and live aggressor and noncombatant role players.

The draft goes into detail about scenarios of a variety of situations which require judgement and crisis decision making.

Once the applicant has passed all of the other requirements, they are also required to submit to a psychological suitability exam from a provider pre-approved by the Board of Trustees.

The 2025 General Session of the Wyoming Legislature is scheduled to convene on January 14 in Cheyenne. The CCSD2 Board of Trustees will hold community meetings and a public hearing regarding the proposed concealed-carry rules, though dates have not yet been scheduled.

The next meeting of the Carbon County School District No. 2 Board of Trustees will be at 4 p.m. on January 20 at Medicine Bow Elementary School in Medicine Bow.