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By Mike Moen
PIERRE, S.D. (Prairie News Service) – Last week’s deadly school shooting in Minnesota has students, parents and teachers again feeling the weight of gun violence. School leaders hope in states like South Dakota, teachers will get their say on how to keep everyone safe.
In the aftermath of a school shooting, familiar arguments about reducing gun violence emerge, from banning assault rifles to arming teachers.
Longtime educator Abbey Clements is a survivor of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting and co-founder of Teachers Unify to End Gun Violence. She said her fellow teachers often feel scrutinized by their employer if they want to share their views.
“To be honest,” said Clements, “the message to teachers who endure these tragedies is, you know, ‘Don’t – don’t speak.'”
Clements said she hopes more spaces are created where teachers might share their stories with the promise of staying anonymous, if they choose.
Union leaders with the South Dakota Education Association agree the tone should be more welcoming for teachers around the state to speak up. In a statement, the state education department says it “respects the First Amendment right of all citizens, including educators, to contribute to the public square of debate.”
In a 2022 national survey of educators, 54% of respondents said they believed teachers carrying firearms would make schools less safe. Male teachers in rural schools were most likely to say they would carry a firearm at school, if allowed.
Clements said she’d rather see schools take steps like sending messages home to families about safe storage of firearms. She points to other culture shifts.
“With car seats, with smoking, with drunk driving,” said Clements, “we’ve made significant strides in those areas because of public education campaigns.”
Safe storage messaging also is a recommendation of gun violence prevention researchers at Minnesota’s Hamline University. Other recommendations include more thorough screening for childhood trauma, and enhanced reporting of behavioral concerns about someone in a noticeable crisis.
Clements said a challenge right now for districts is a lack of funding and resources.
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