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When Gov. Mike DeWine signed into law the arming of school district employees, he knew it had been written to require a maximum of 24 hours training before the employee could carry. DeWine was right to quickly remind districts they are free to provide additional training, if they wish.
We know the 720 hours of training proposed at one time is unreasonable. But it is important to leave open to local administrations the option to provide the level of training that fits their circumstances.
Meanwhile, DeWine detailed the other components in the new law: $100 million for school security upgrades and $5 million for upgrades at colleges. The state will be providing $1.2 billion for schools to address mental health and other issues.
DeWine says his preference would have been for school districts to hire more armed school resource officers. That is reasonable, but costly.
Lawmakers have shown no desire to support other measures from DeWine, such as higher penalties for violent felons caught with guns and ensuring mentally ill people don't have guns if a court deems them dangerous to themselves and others.
But it remains the case that solving our gun violence problem must very much be an all-of-the-above effort. As we wrestle with this issue, the front line remains the same -- students, teachers and school employees.
Boards of education and administrators must heed DeWine's reminder and make sure the adults in those buildings have access to as much training as they need.