BOE approves new gun rules

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NEW KNOXVILLE – In response to Ohio House Bill 99 and Senate Bill 215, New Knoxville schools adjusted their policies involving guns at their school board meeting Oct. 24.

A written document approved by the school board said:

“These policies have been revised to reflect the changes required by recent legislative actions, including S.B. 215 and H.B. 99.

Senate Bill 215 became effective June 13, 2022, and authorized ‘qualified’ individuals to carry certain weapons without a carry-concealed license or permit. The law defines ‘qualifying adult’ as a person who is twenty-one (21) years of age or older, is not legally prohibited from possessing or receiving a firearm under specified federal or state law, and satisfies specified criteria necessary to obtain a concealed handgun license. Importantly, however, the law still requires an individual to have a concealed-carry permit or be an active service member to lawfully carry a weapon onto school grounds and either remain in their vehicle with it, or leave it in their locked vehicle.”

The document also said permitless carriers would still not be allowed to carry weapons into a school safety zone with a felony charge for violators.

H.B. 99 is the ruling that permits permits a board of education and governing board of a nonpublic school to authorize individuals to have weapons in a school safety zone provided that two conditions are met.

The first condition is an individual must successfully complete a new training and curriculum course outlined by the bill or be a person who is either a law enforcement or who have a certificate of successful basic peace officer training.

The second condition says the initial training for those who have not completed the peace officer training will be up to 24hours in length, with an additional annual requalification training requirement of up to eight hours.

The document also noted the board must notify the public through their regular channels of communication if they have authorized one or more individuals to carry weapons, and must also provide a current list of designated individuals to the Ohio School Safety Program. They added the notice to the public is a public record, although other records pertaining to designated individuals are expressly exempt from the Ohio Public Records Act.

By Sandy Rose Schwieterman

For the Sidney Daily News

The writer is a regular contributor to the Sidney Daily News.

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