A Lone Tree charter school focused on “classical education” plans to sever ties with the Douglas County School District and instead seek authorization from the state after the two sides couldn’t agree on a plan to arm staff with concealed handguns.
Derec Shuler, executive director of Ascent Classical Academy of Douglas County, said some teachers or other staff at the public charter school are now carrying concealed handguns on campus after completing more than 24 hours of firearms training over the summer.
The school’s board of directors voted to start training staff to carry firearms in school last year, and parents strongly supported the move even though the district disapproved, he said.
“We’re happy to talk to the district, we just don’t have a compatible philosophy in how to secure kids,” Shuler said.
The schism comes after the superintendent of the Douglas County School District — which includes STEM School Highlands Ranch, site of May’s deadly shooting — told state legislators he will not allow teachers in the district to be armed.
“Teachers are not armed,” Superintendent Thomas Tucker told the state legislature’s school safety committee Tuesday. “We will fight tooth and nail with any school — whether it’s a neighborhood school or a charter school — (that) decides to arm its teachers.”
Ascent is a charter school, meaning it has to have an authorizer, which could be either the local school district or the statewide Charter School Institute. It’s one of Douglas County’s newer schools, and opened in the fall of 2018 with about 300 students in kindergarten through 10th grade. The school moved from Castle Rock to Lone Tree over the summer and has a plan to expand to 12th grade by fall 2020.
Douglas County School District spokeswoman Paula Hans said Tucker and the school board aren’t in favor of arming teachers in any school buildings, including charters.
“DCSD expects all of its schools to abide by (the district’s safety policy) and follow DCSD’s research-based practices to keep each and every student and staff member safe,” she said in an email.
The Douglas County School District has a policy that requires any armed person on its campuses to be responsible only for security, which appears to rule out arming teachers or staff who have other, nonsecurity duties.
The policy also forbids security staff from concealing their weapons. Supporters of arming teachers point to concealing weapons as an advantage, because a potential shooter won’t be sure who might be armed.
Shuler said he met with Tucker to discuss the security issue last week, and district officials suggested the school could seek state authorization if it was determined to arm staff. He expects the school will begin its application sometime in the next two weeks, with a goal of completing it by October.
Terry Croy Lewis, executive director of the Charter School Institute, said a district would have to vote to “release” a school before that school could apply for state authorization. The school would stay under the district’s authorization until the Charter School Institute board voted to accept it. Typically, the process takes about three months, though the institute could speed it up if necessary, she said.
Lewis said Ascent has been talking to the Charter School Institute’s staff about state authorization for more than a year, so it didn’t come as a surprise that they might seek it. About one-third of the schools the institute authorizes were previously under a district, though transferring during a school year isn’t common, she said.
“The timing is unusual, but the conversation has been going for a long time,” she said.
Lewis said there could be differences in oversight and support services, though she couldn’t comment specifically on Ascent’s existing contract.
Ascent and the Douglas County district still have to resolve some financial issues, like whether the school would continue to receive a share of the mill levy override dollars that voters passed, Shuler said.
State law doesn’t require districts to share their mill levy dollars with a charter school after it leaves, but it also doesn’t forbid them to, said Bill Kottenstette, executive director of the Colorado Department of Education’s Schools of Choice Unit. They also would have to resolve issues like transferring student records and deciding ownership of any shared property, he said.
Little evidence exists to show whether schools are safer or less safe after staff are armed. A 2018 analysis by The Denver Post found at least 30 districts and charter schools in Colorado allowed teachers to be armed, though that figure may be incomplete because there’s no central tracking.
Ascent staff completed training that covers decision-making on when to shoot and related skills like first aid, as well requiring participants to hit targets, Shuler said. The training also attempts to simulate high-stress environments, so staff can practice making decisions and taking aim under something like the conditions they might face in an active shooting, he said.
Shuler declined to say how many of the school’s teachers or staff are participating, but said interest was widespread. All participants already had concealed-carry permits, he said. Those who are carrying weapons are not being identified publicly or within the school.
Parents were advised in a letter from Shuler on Wednesday that some staff at the school are now carrying concealed firearms. “We are aware that Douglas County School District’s leadership does not support our program and you may be hearing about this in the community,” he wrote.
Shuler said a poll of parents found more than 90% support for arming teachers, and for leaving the district if it was necessary to do that.
“Our perspective is we are responding to what our parents have demanded,” he said.
