Schools With Armed Teachers Won't Receive Insurance

A week after last December's Newtown shooting, the National Rifle Association advocated increasing arms in schools, arguing that more guns, not fewer, are what will make schools safer for students and teachers. Never mind that there was an armed security officer at Columbine who was unsuccessful in stopping the tragic gun fatalities that occurred there. The NRA is not known for its sensible, logic-based approach.

Case in point: In April, a National Rifle Association-funded task force next outlined a package of recommendations aimed at improving school safety, including the proposal that schools train teachers and other personnel to carry guns in order to protect students.

This year, at least 19 states introduced legislation allowing concealed carry on campus. In Kansas, the law took precedence on July 1, but insurance companies are refusing to cover schools that arm their employees.

EMC Insurance covers 85 to 90 percent of Kansas school districts and has the longstanding policy of denying coverage to schools that arm employees. The two smaller insurance firms that cover the rest of Kansas schools are enacting the same policy.

"We've been writing school business for almost 40 years, and one of the underwriting guidelines we follow for schools is that any on-site armed security should be provided by uniformed, qualified law enforcement officers," Mick Lovell, EMC's vice president for business development, told USA Today. "Our guidelines have not recently changed."

Someone had to see the light, right?