EMC Insurance Company, the primary insurer of Kansas schools, has stated coverage will no longer be available to districts which allow teachers to carry guns. When a new concealed carry law went into effect on July 1, designated school staffers could garner approval to take a firearm onto the campus. After the top school insurance carrier vowed to drop educational facilities which allowed armed teachers, the Kansas Association of School Boards began urging districts against passing concealed carry policies.
Bernie Zalaznik, the EMC Insurance Company vice president, stated the decision to drop schools which arm teachers was based upon financial concerns. Zalaznik said, “We understand that school districts have every right to decide which way they want to go. We are making this underwriting decision simply to protect the financial security of our company.”
Approximately 12 school districts have voiced a desired to allow guns in Kansas schools, according to state school board association insurance program director David Shriver. Until the new concealed carry law was enacted, only police officers were allowed to legally have a firearm inside a school building or on the campus. Kansas Governor Sam Brownback signed the school concealed carry bill into law in April.
EMC Insurance offers coverage to about 90 percent of the 286 school districts in Kansas. The Wright Specialty and Continental Western Group insurance providers have also reportedly decided against offering policies to districts which allow guns in the classroom.
The concealed carry law permits Kansas school districts to appoint specific trained employees with a valid permit to have guns on district campuses. Larger school districts, like the one in Topeka, are not expected to have much of a need for armed teachers because there are about 20 police officers already on campus on a daily basis.
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