Charter school that allows trained staff to carry firearms asked to leave DougCo School District

DOUGLAS COUNTY, Colo. -- A charter school that allows some of its trained staff to carry firearms has been asked to leave the Douglas County School District.

Last year, the governing board for the Ascent Classic Academy started looking into the possibility of training and arming some of its staff, which the school’s executive director Derec Shuler says is allowed under state statute. The school serves about 500 students in grades K-11.

“Over this past year, we have been looking really hard at, what are the proper protocols we need? What kind of training do we need? How do we select great people, and really how does this fit into our overall school safety plan?” Shuler said.

When the school brought up the possibility with parents, it says it received overwhelming support, particularly in light of the STEM School shooting in Highlands Ranch in which one student was killed and eight others were injured.