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SENATE BILL NO. 3
IN THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA
THIRTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE - FIRST SESSION
BY SENATOR HUGHES
Introduced: 1/22/25
Referred: Education, Judiciary
A BILL
FOR AN ACT ENTITLED
"An Act requiring school districts to grant qualified persons an assigned duty to carry a 1
concealed handgun on school gro unds under certain conditions; r elating to standards, 2
training, and continuing education in firearms training for qua lified persons granted an 3
assigned duty to carry a concealed handgun on school grounds; r elating to 4
communication of school districts with state and local law enfo rcement; and relating to 5
school crisis response plans." 6
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 7
* Section 1. The uncodified law of the State o f Alaska is amended by adding a new section 8
to read: 9
SHORT TITLE. This Act may be known as the Safe Schools Act. 10
* Sec. 2. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 11
read: 12
LEGISLATIVE INTENT. It is the intent of the legislature that th e concealed carry of 13
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firearms on school grounds by certain qualified persons augment responses by law 1
enforcement during a crisis. 2
* Sec. 3. AS 11.61.210(c) is amended to read: 3
(c) The provisions of (a)(7) of this section do not apply to a 4
(1) peace officer acting within the scope and authority of the offi cer's 5
employment; or 6
(2) qualified person granted an assigned duty under AS 14.03.1 70 7
to carry a concealed handgun on school grounds. 8
* Sec. 4. AS 14.03 is amended by adding a new section to article 1 to read: 9
Sec. 14.03.170. Granting qualified persons an assigned duty to carry a 10
concealed handgun on school grounds. (a) A school district shall 11
(1) grant one or more persons who meet the requirements of (b) of this 12
section an assigned duty to carry a concealed handgun on the pe rson on school 13
grounds for defensive use unless there is no person available w ho meets the 14
requirements of (b) of this section; 15
(2) adopt a written policy rela ting to granting a qualified pe rson an 16
assigned duty to carry a concealed handgun on the person on sch ool grounds; the 17
written policy must, at a minimum, establish the standards and requirements that must 18
be met before granting the assigned duty, and the standards, re quirements, and 19
procedures for documentation of initial and continuing educatio n in firearms training 20
for a qualified person to carry a concealed handgun; the physical and mental standards 21
established may not be less stringent than the physical and men tal standards the 22
Alaska Police Standards Council has established for the employment of police officers 23
under AS 18.65.240(a)(2); 24
(3) pay the fees for the trainin g and continuing education req uired by 25
this section of a qualified person who is an employee of the di strict and compensate 26
the qualified person for time spe nt attending training and part icipating in on-site drills 27
as time worked; and 28
(4) pay or reimburse the fees for the training and continuing education 29
required by this section of a qualified person who is a volunte er for the school district 30
and requests payment or reimbursement. 31
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(b) A school district shall grant an assigned duty to carry a concealed handgun 1
under this section to a person who 2
(1) agrees to accept the assigned duty; 3
(2) has obtained a permit to carry a concealed handgun under 4
AS 18.65.700 - 18.65.790; 5
( 3 ) h a s c o mp le te d a tr ain in g course that is equivalent to a na tionally 6
recognized firearms training course, a nationally recognized tr aining course for school 7
resource officers, or the Faculty/Administrator Safety Training and Emergency 8
Response program offered by the Buckeye Firearms Foundation; 9
(4) meets the physical and mental standards established by the district's 10
governing body under (a)(2) of this section; 11
(5) has completed any training required by the district's insu rance 12
policy to be eligible for coverage; and 13
(6) has committed to a period of continuing employment if requ ired by 14
the school district under (c)(1) of this section. 15
(c) A school district may 16
(1) require a person to commit to a period of continuing emplo yment 17
with the district before granting the person an assigned duty t o carry a concealed 18
handgun under this section; 19
(2) revoke or suspend a qualifie d person's assigned duty to ca rry a 20
concealed handgun at the discre tion of the district or at the r equest of the qualified 21
person; and 22
(3) install lockers with biometric identification locks in each school for 23
storage of handguns by qualified persons, the costs of which ma y be eligible for 24
reimbursement by the state. 25
(d) Not later than July 1 of each year, each school district s hall provide to 26
local and state law enforcement agencies 27
(1) the district's active shooter plan for each of the distric t's school 28
buildings; 29
(2) the floor plan for each of the district's school buildings ; the floor 30
plan must identify locked and unlocked entrances, accessible wi ndows, safe huddle 31
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areas, the location of any gun-storage lockers, and the room as signment of each 1
qualified person, if applicable; 2
(3) contact information for each qualified person; 3
(4) the dates in the academic year on which each school buildi ng and 4
all school employees will be available for training or on-site drills; and 5
(5) the dates outside of the academic year on which all school 6
buildings, school administrators, and qualified persons will be available for training or 7
on-site drills. 8
(e) The state or a political s ubdivision of the state, a schoo l board or an 9
individual member of the school board, a principal, or a qualif ied person is immune 10
from liability that might otherwise be incurred as a result of an injury caused by a 11
qualified person's act or failure to act during a crisis. This subsection does not apply to 12
an act that constitutes gross negligence. 13
(f) This section does not affect a person's ability to lawfull y possess a weapon 14
on school grounds without violating AS 11.61.210(a)(7) or (8). 15
(g) Subject to appropriation, th e department shall reimburse a school district 16
for training costs incurred under (a)(3) and (4) of this section. 17
(h) In this section, 18
(1) "qualified person" means a person who meets the requiremen ts of 19
(b) of this section and is granted an assigned duty to carry a concealed handgun on 20
school grounds; 21
(2) "school grounds" has the meaning given in AS 11.71.900. 22
* Sec. 5. AS 14.33.100(c) is amended to read: 23
(c) Each district shall annually review and update as appropri ate each school's 24
crisis response plan. A copy of each school's crisis response p lan, as annually updated, 25
shall be retained by the district and a copy provided to each l ocal agency that has a 26
role in the plan. Notice of completion of the annual review and update and the location 27
of a school's crisis response plan shall be posted at each school in the district. A school 28
crisis response plan shall be printed and available for inspect ion by the public. The 29
portions of a school crisis respo nse plan relating to floor pla ns, locked and 30
unlocked entrances, accessible windows, safe huddle areas, the location of any 31
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gun-storage lockers, and the identity and location of a qualifi ed person under 1
AS 14.03.170 may not be made available to the public. 2
* Sec. 6. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 3
read: 4
APPLICABILITY. This Act applies to a contract or collective bar gaining agreement 5
that becomes legally binding on or after the effective date of this Act. 6