UToledo-Led Survey Finds Most School Administrators Oppose Arming Teachers

UToledo-Led Survey Finds Most School Administrators Oppose Arming Teachers

Most superintendents and principals oppose the practice of arming teachers as a school-safety strategy, according to new research led by The University of Toledo's Dr. Brandon Wood.

Wood, an associate professor in the College of Health and Human Services, and two collaborators surveyed more than 500 superintendents and principals in 30 states, bringing empirical data and valuable insights to conversations surrounding a polarizing practice that's gained increasing attention as a possible deterrent to school shootings.

Their research, published in the peer-reviewed Journal of School Violence, explores administrators' support for arming teachers and specific policies related to implementation as well as factors that may influence their perspectives.

"Arming teachers has become a nationally high-profile safety proposal in response to school shootings," Wood said. "But we found that administrator voices were often glaringly missing from the literature on these proposals despite their central role in district-level decisions that affect their students and their communities. We wanted to fill in that gap, especially for the state policymakers who stand to benefit from reliable data."

States and school districts currently operate under a patchwork of policies when it comes to arming teachers. Ohio is among the more than 30 states that allow educators to keep firearms on hand under certain conditions, with nearly 100 schools and/or districts authorizing policies since the adoption of House Bill 99 in 2022.

Meanwhile, 16 states forbid policies arming teachers altogether.

Wood is familiar with debates over these policies as a leader in school-safety research, with his latest collaboration building on an extensive survey of classroom teachers published separately in the School Psychology Review and the Journal of School Violence in 2021.

By specifically focusing on principals and superintendents in the most recent survey, he and his collaborators aimed to further inform policy debates over arming teachers by presenting the perspectives of those most likely to play integral roles in the planning, implementation and management of these policies.

Their work revealed several key takeaways.

While more than two-thirds of superintendents and more than one-half of principals strongly oppose the practice of arming teachers, the majority simultaneously expressed support for specific safeguards should such policies be implemented. More than three-quarters of both principals and superintendents favored psychological exams, background checks and drug tests for teachers who may be authorized to keep a firearm on hand, and more than two-thirds strongly agreed that firearms should be stored in a locked box.

In analyzing their data further, the researchers identified several factors that are associated with administrators' perspectives.

They noted increased support among those who are gun owners, those who work in rural districts and those who identify politically as Republicans, for example, but found no statistically significant differences based on gender, years of experience or the presence of a school resource officer as a fully trained, credentialed and usually armed member of law enforcement.

"Our data suggest that policymakers should not assume administrative support for arming teachers," Wood said. "And it's notable that the majority of our respondents, including those who oppose the practice of arming teachers, view safeguards as essential should such policies be adopted. Ultimately, our research isn't intended to be an argument for or against arming teachers, but a way to bring administrator voices into this important conversation."

Wood collaborated with Dr. Amity Noltemeyer and school psychology graduate student Georgette Early of Miami University.

They are continuing their line of research with an ongoing study exploring how political and community demographics influence school districts' decisions to allow armed staff in Ohio. They are sharing their preliminary results this week at the annual convention of the National Association of School Psychologists.

Wood is also pursuing a series of in-depth interviews with superintendents in Ohio districts that permit armed non-law enforcement staff, including teachers. It's supported by funding from the UToledo Office of Research and Sponsored Programs.