Sweetwater County school district passes new gun policy
ROCK SPRINGS — Sweetwater County School District No. 1 has set up a new policy for allowing firearms on school grounds.
This action conforms with the Wyoming Repeal Gun Free Zones Act, also known as House Bill 172, which goes into effect July 1.
Since HB 172 sets minimum requirements for gun storage and training, some districts are seizing the opportunity to pursue their own policy, while others are choosing not to do so.
After exploring options and gathering public input on how to safely allow firearms in Rock Springs schools, SCSD No. 1 included several mandates regarding firearms training in their policy.
Concerned parents and residents attended a special SCSD No. 1 Board of Trustees meeting on Monday, June 23, to discuss the new law regulating guns in schools.
Firearms training
In the policy, SCSD No. 1 included several requirements and curriculum for a successful initial training course under “Firearms Training,” with emphasis on firearms use, storage, safety and training, adding specifics such as scenario- based training. Scenario-based training is designed to closely simulate real-life situations and push trainees to apply learned skills under pressure.
Rock Springs resident Laura McKee expressed concern that educators will not be able to take scenario-based training because she heard that it isn’t offered in the community.
“I just feel like we’re making things harder. I know that our teachers are going to do the right thing,” McKee said. “I feel like they would protect our students at all costs, even if it means that they will make the greatest sacrifice of all — giving their own life to protect them. I think we should enable them, encourage them and help them to do this.”
Responding to McKee’s comment, Superintendent Joe Libby explained that all training, including scenario-based training, will be done through the Rock Springs Police Department, noting that the district does not expect staff to seek out scenario-based training on their own.
‘It is a tool, not a burden’
SCSD No. 1 Board of Trustees Chairman Cole Wright said that when staff members chooses to concealed carry while at school, they are choosing to protect themselves, as well as their students. Wright said part of the idea behind the required scenario-based training requirement is to teach staff members how to make a decision during an emergency.
He noted other people have said there are other ways to be trained in firearms usage and safety for a concealed carry permit, but when the “decision needs to be made,” it is “a whole different ball game.”
Wright shared that he did not go through any scenario-based training to get his concealed carry permit, but he expressed its importance.
“The whole goal behind this training is to spend some time to think about it, put yourself in those shoes and know ahead of time what you might be faced with so that you can be more prepared to make a better decision,” Wright said, mentioning that it is a training opportunity to help those who want to be prepared in self-defense situations. “The scenario-based training is merely there to be a tool, not a burden.”
‘Concealed means concealed’
Other issues discussed by community members and board members were biometric lock boxes, the right to know who has a concealed carry permit and what defines “concealed.”
Superintendent Libby said the district could provide lock boxes, and it would be the district’s responsibility to make sure those storage boxes are in a safe location and the firearm is concealed.
“It doesn’t do any good to have a lock box in a building and mount it in the back of the classroom next to the old pencil sharpener,” Libby said. “They’d have to be in a place or space where it is concealed — away from the students.”
Libby added that if the district buys the biometric lock box, it would also be the district’s responsibility to maintain the lock box.
Trustee Cole Seppie brought up the possibility of a student noticing a firearm on one’s body if the imprint shows through their clothing. Seppie said he has had a fair amount of concerned people wondering how concealment is going to be addressed as a district.
“There’s a lot of gray areas that lead us into a tough position as a district,” Seppie said.
Libby responded by saying, “Concealed is concealed.”
“If the outline is showing, it’s not concealed. If the grip is showing, that’s not concealed,” Libby explained. “If you’re wearing a jacket and it’s open and someone can see the firearm in the holster, it’s not concealed.”
Libby noted that the state statute did not specify whether the staff member would be terminated if they failed to conceal the firearm. He said if it’s brought up, the district could review the policy and see what can be done differently to keep everyone from seeing the concealed firearm.
“Concealed means no one should know,” he said.
The state statute also states that the district is not obligated to tell others who has a concealed firearm permit.
Flexibility
Libby said this is a state statute, and the district needed to move forward with it. However, he added that the board can keep adjusting the policy as needed.
“Don’t think that what comes before you will have to be the end all, be all,” Libby said. “The policy can be modified and adjusted as the board sees fit, as long as they stay within the parameters of what the state has provided them.”
SCSD No. 1’s “Firearms: Personnel Authorized to Carry” policy can be found on the district’s website.
This story was published on June 28, 2025.