Teton County school district passes policy allowing faculty, volunteers to carry concealed weapons
JACKSON — Teton County School District No.1 faculty and volunteers will be able to carry concealed firearms onto school property starting in July, but not without meeting extensive training requirements.
The school district’s board of trustees approved the concealed carry policy on Wednesday night.
Trustees reviewed policies that explicitly ban anyone from carrying guns openly and set guidelines for visitors carrying concealed firearms and weapons of all kinds in schools. The board also updated community use and public conduct policies.
The district made these changes in preparation for House Bill 172 going into effect on July 1.
The new state law repeals gun-free zones in many public spaces, including any K-12 school, university, authorized public building or meeting, as well as any public school or college athletic event that does not sell alcoholic beverages. Lawmakers provided a few exceptions, such as allowing private property owners to restrict firearms on their own property or government entities banning the open carrying of a gun in their facilities.
HB 172 also allows government entities such as school boards to require proper storage of a weapon and an annual firearms qualification or initial training course — but that can apply only to employees and volunteers, not visitors.
TCSD jumped on this authority while other districts are allowing any employee or volunteer to carry concealed weapons with no policy in place.
The policy the Teton County School District had introduced for employees and volunteers required an initial training course that included not less than 16 hours of live fire handgun training and eight hours of scenario-based training using nonlethal training, firearms and ammunition. Employees and volunteers would also need to complete at least 12 hours of recurrent training each year.
Trustee Jerry Bosch proposed even stricter requirements to replace these on Wednesday.
Some of the new guidelines to conceal carry require a school district physical assessment, including for vision and hearing; a psychological screening; and a school district approved background check.
Faculty and volunteers would need no less than two hours of firearms maintenance training, no less than four hours of firearms safety training, no less than 24 hours of firearms training at a shooting range, no less than 25 hours annually of weapons and use-of-force training, and no less than eight hours of annual scenario-based training.
They must pass a test on the “law relative to active shooting and use of deadly force” as well as a firearms proficiency test at the shooting range no less than quarterly. Their firearms must also be inspected annually.
Bosch also proposed that any employees or volunteers who conceal carry a firearm on school property “(do) so at their own risk and (assume) all liability.”
Those parties also waive any and all claims or causes of action against the school district “for any harm or loss that results from their decision to carry a firearm.” They’ll be required to sign a waiver of liability and indemnification prior to bringing their weapons to school.
Failure to abide by any of these requirements could mean an employee or volunteer is immediately suspended or terminated.
The board added all of these stipulations to the final version of policy, but it could be changed after a legal review by the school district’s attorney or the other trustees. Since Bosch brought the additions to the final reading of the policy, the board wasn’t able to see the finished product. However, board members wanted to get a policy on the books before July 1.
The trustees are set to further discuss the issue at their July 15 meeting.
This story was published on June 14, 2025.