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Ashland schools move to ban concealed handguns By Kevin Opsahl Updated: Jul 12, 2022 04:50 PM A A Policy KGBB would prohibit concealed hanguns in city schools, and signs would be posted indicating the new rules Ashland High School The Ashland School District is the first school district in Jackson County to initiate potential action to ban concealed weapons on school property following action by the state Legislature last year that gave schools that right. At a meeting Monday night, the school board considered a policy called “firearms prohibited,” or KGBB, which would mandate the prohibition of concealed carry in schools, as well as signs warning people not to bring them, with the exception of law enforcement officers. Those who violate the policy could be issued a trespass citation, be ejected from school grounds or referred to law enforcement. The new policy, however, would allow concealed firearms on district property if they are unloaded and locked in a car. “I think it makes an unequivocal statement: guns don’t belong in schools, whether they’re being legally carried (or) illegally carried,” said Victor Chang, the school board’s new chairman. “I don’t think creating policy … makes our students any less safe.” The Ashland School Board’s discussion on KBGG follows the West Linn School District’s approval of the same policy last month. Around that time, the Portland School District also made changes to its concealed carry policy. Both cited Senate Bill 554 as the reason for their decisions. Senate Bill 554 contained several gun reforms, such as enacting new gun bans in the state Capitol and at Portland International Airport. It also allowed public school districts, community colleges and universities to set their own policy banning guns. While possessing a gun on school property was already banned by many school districts, state law has long had an exception for people who hold concealed handgun licenses. SB 554 removed that exemption. Few school districts in the state have amended their concealed carry policies in response to SB 554, passed by the Legislature and signed into law by the governor last year. An analysis by Oregon Public Broadcasting found just 13% of Beaver State school districts had passed a policy to ban concealed handguns in light of the new law. Typically, school district policies face a lengthy approval process — with three “readings” before the board takes action. But Monday, board members expressed interest in sending KGBB on the fast track to approval, with possibly only two readings before approval. “That new policy seems so short … I’m very supportive of just doing that piece, even though we don’t have the best means to enforce it yet,” said board member Jill Franko. “I don’t really want to drag this out, either. I’d like to try to move forward quicker than not.” Board member Eva Skuratowicz expressed similar thoughts. “If we feel like, OK, this is how we want it to look, then we do a second reading, and we can vote on it,” she said. Both board members wondered aloud whether the passage of KGBB was dependent on making revisions to the district’s current weapons policy. “We would want to do two (readings) on (KGBB), but I just don’t think we necessarily need to connect it to all of the things that may have to happen to the other policy,” Skuratowicz said. Chang said that the policies do not need to be voted on “in lock step” at the same meeting. “The larger revisions to the ‘weapons in schools’ policy actually feels like it would take a little bit more time,” he said. Adopted in 2014 and readopted in 2017, the district’s “Weapons in schools” policy, also known as JFCJ, defines dangerous and deadly weapons; says students may not bring a concealed weapon to school, outlines punishments if they do; and even provides certain protections to employees who report these incidents to law enforcement. During Monday’s meeting, the discussion of JFCJ was led by Superintendent Samuel Bogdanove, who noted Ashland is not alone among school districts around the country considering changes to safety policies after the shooting massacre at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. After the meeting, the superintendent said that the proposed revisions to JFCJ were “minor wording changes“ in accordance with the wishes of the Oregon School Boards Association, which provides consultation to districts on policy, among other services. “The edits do not substantively change the existing policy, but do provide clarity,” Bogdanove wrote in an email. The district’s school board took no action on either policy Monday. Chang said the board would likely vote on the new policy in August. Reach reporter Kevin Opsahl at 541-776-4476 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @KevJourno.