On Friday, the Senate State Affairs Committee voted to pass the school sentinel bill by a 5-4 vote. This controversial bill will move to the Senate floor, and is now one step away from Governor Daugaard’s desk. The training qualifications are undefined and the argument of local control is muddied with multiple jurisdictions. While the intentions of this bill may be good, the bill is poorly written and will create more problems than it will solve.

Qualifications and rules for the school sentinel bill have not been written. In Section 7, page 2 of HB 1087, authority is given to the Law Enforcement Officers Standard Commission to promulgate rules to establish minimum educational and training standards. The bill does not set guidelines for these minimum standards. In testimony, discussion has been for sentinels to have 40 hours of firearm training. The scope of the situations these sentinels could be facing requires more than firearm training. South Dakota law enforcement officers receive training for these situations and attend weeks of education and training to become a law enforcement officer.
Perhaps the most disturbing aspect of this bill is how the school district decides to authorize such a program. Before a school district can decide to train and arm a school sentinel, the district must get approval from the local law enforcement agency. The approval of law enforcement is commendable, but unintentionally creates another layer of bureaucracy. In a county like Minnehaha with multiple school districts, a situation could easily arise where some school districts have a sentinel program while others do not. Then it is up to law enforcement to keep track of multiple school district policies. Often, we have sheriff’s deputies circulating in and out of our community. This bill creates situations where mistakes can and will happen.

Then the school board must discuss and vote on the implementation of a school sentinel program. Section 9 of HB 1087 states that any discussion by a school board regarding a sentinel program shall be conducted in an executive or closed meeting which no printed materials or record may be available to the public. As a member of your community, an individual has no voice in the school sentinel discussion with your local school district. This approach is a direct assault on open government.

It is sad when the discussion of how to deal with violence in our schools is answered with more violence. As a state, we should be looking at causes such as bullying and mental illness and finding solutions to stop the violence before it happens. School districts should be discussing policies that will make our schools safer and keep guns out of our schools. As voters, we need to have a voice in the process. We can make a difference today. Please call or email our state senators. Tell them to vote against HB 1087. You may contact your local legislators on the state website - legis.state.sd.us. You may also get your voice heard by signing a petition online at SmartSchoolSafety.org.