Alaska school district considers allowing teachers and staff to carry handguns at work

Matanuska-Susitna Borough Administration Building in Palmer (Amy Bushatz/Mat-Su Sentinel)

By James Brooks

Alaska Beacon

The Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District is scheduled to consider a proposal that would pay teachers, staff and contractors to carry handguns at schools in the borough.

The move, billed as a security measure, would be the first of its kind by a school district in Alaska. 

Current state law forbids anyone from carrying a concealed firearm on school grounds without the permission of a district’s chief administrative officer.

Board Policy 3515, as the concept is formally known, would set up a formalized policy for the Mat-Su school district’s superintendent to grant that permission. It is scheduled for initial discussion Wednesday evening. No vote is expected. 

As written, the draft policy proposes that the district will pay a stipend to “certain qualified individuals to carry a concealed handgun (including other authorized non-lethal security device) on school property in accordance with the provisions of this policy.”

The draft goes on to state that “participating authorized individuals will receive a stipend for this additional duty.” 

It does not state how much the district will pay participants, but that the stipend is expected to cover mandatory training and not a handgun, holster or ammunition.

The proposal is similar to a bill proposed by former Sen. Shelley Hughes, R-Palmer, last year. That legislation did not advance, and Hughes has since resigned from the Legislature to run for governor.

If adopted as written, interested staff would be required to undergo safety training, a physical, a psychological evaluation and random drug and alcohol screening.

“This policy change is driven first and foremost by a commitment to student and staff safety,” the district said in a description of the proposed policy. 

The Mat-Su school district covers an area the size of West Virginia. North of Anchorage, it is the state’s second-largest, with 19,518 students in the 2024-2025 school year, according to state figures.

“In many of our schools, particularly those in geographically large or remote areas, immediate access to law enforcement may be limited. This policy recognizes that reality and seeks to responsibly bridge that gap in emergency response time,” the description states.

Under the text of the policy, the list of employees approved to carry handguns will be kept secret.

“Any employee who discloses the identity of an authorized individual — except as permitted by this policy or as required by law — may be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including Termination,” the policy states.

• James Brooks Cascade is a longtime Alaska reporter who lives in Juneau. He previously worked at the Anchorage Daily News, Juneau Empire, Kodiak Mirror and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. Alaska Beacon is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.