As Ohio's 1.66 million school children return to classrooms this fall, more of their teachers may be carrying guns inside the K-12 schools.

Ninety-seven districts and individual schools are arming school personnel this year, up from 67 last year, according to the latest roster released by the Ohio Department of Public Safety. In August 2023, there were 46 school districts that decided to arm personnel.

The names of teachers and school personnel carrying guns are not public records, nor are the total number of armed staff in each district.

Districts in smaller, rural counties are more likely to arm their personnel than the larger, urban districts. That may reflect a concern about longer police response times in far flung areas.

For example, seven districts, one private school and a ca

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