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cation process the commission uses for law enforcement officers. Upon learning that the Legislature authorized the panel to train sentinels but not certify them, the commission changed the proposed rules so it will merely tell a school district when someone completes training.
• The vote was delayed until Aug. 2 to allow time for public comment on the changed proposal.
• South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley said the change is significant because it gives the commission less ability to immediately disqualify sentinels for misconduct indicating they should no longer be allowed to carry guns in schools. A school board could still decide if a sentinel no longer should carry guns in schools, officials said.
• Only those approved by a school board and local law enforcement agencies could be trained as sentinels. Then, they'd have to complete 80 hours of training through the state academy in firearms proficiency, use of force, legal issues, weapon retention and storage and first aid. To retain those qualifications, they would have to have another eight hours a year of training.
• Commission Chairman Bryan Gortmaker, director of the state Division of Criminal Investigation, said he expects the fee charged to school districts for the initial 80-hour training course to be $700. The rules will not take effect until after the next school year begins, so the first training class is likely to be held next summer, when teachers and others have time for the two-week course.
• "We haven't received information from any school district that they are yet considering appointing a school sentinel," Gortmaker said.
• Wade Pogany, executive director of the Associated School Boards of South Dakota, said he supports the new version of proposed rules, but he noted his association is among the education groups that opposed the measure approved by the Legislature. Those groups argued armed teachers or volunteers could increase the danger of accidental shootings or create problems if students find a sentinel's gun.
• Pogany, the only person to testify at Thursday's commission hearing, said he is worried that the program could expose school districts to legal liability if something goes wrong.
• "Our concern is about what happens when a civilian is armed and the danger just bringing that weapon into a school causes," he told the commission.
• The law passed by the Legislature leaves it up to each school district to decide whether to arm teachers and others. Supporters argue the program might be needed in rural areas where law enforcement agencies are located miles from schools, saying a would-be attacker could be deterred by just the knowledge that an

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