• PIERRE, S.D. (AP) -- South Dakota school districts should be allowed to arm certain teachers and administrators with guns to protect against attacks like last month's school shooting in Connecticut, lawmakers sponsoring a bill told a state legislative panel Wednesday.
• "If a school feels defenseless and vulnerable ... we support their right to defend themselves however they choose to do so," said Rep. Scott Craig, R-Rapid City, the measure's main sponsor.
• But representatives of teachers and school boards told the House Education Committee that they believe putting guns in schools could lead to accidental shootings or other problems if students get their hands on teachers' guns.
• "Putting guns in the hands of teachers and principals makes school less safe," said Wade Pogany, executive director of the Associated School Boards of South Dakota.
• The Education Committee heard more than an hour of testimony on the bill Wednesday, but delayed a vote until Friday after running out of time for committee debate.
• The bill would allow individual school boards to create so-called sentinel programs by authorizing the arming of school employees, hired security officers or volunteers. A school board would first have to consult with local law enforcement agencies, and school employees could not be forced to carry guns.
• Craig said he was working on the bill even before the Dec. 14 elementary school shooting in Newtown, Conn., that left 20 children and six adults dead. He said the measure would leave it up to each school district to decide whether to arm teachers

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