Fact check: Mississippi school districts can allow, prohibit teachers from carrying guns on campus

The claim: Mississippi just passed a law allowing all teachers with permits to carry guns on campus

Arming school personnel has been one potential solution offered in the wake of mass shootings across the country, and some social media users are claiming new legislation allows Mississippi teachers to bring their guns on campus.

“Mississippi just passed the law that all teachers, with permits are allowed to carry on campus,” read a July 26 Facebook post that was shared more than 2,400 times in six days.

But the claim is false. The language in the Mississippi State Board of Education's gun policy was recently changed, but only so that it wouldn't conflict with state laws a decade ago. Each district can decide whether or not to allow school personnel with enhanced carry licenses to bring guns onto campus, according to the state's education department.

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The Facebook user who shared the claim acknowledged it’s “not a new law” when reached by USA TODAY.

Mississippi school districts set their own gun policies

While there was a recent modification to a policy surrounding guns on campus, there was not a change in Mississippi state law.

“There is no truth to this post on Facebook,” Mississippi Department of Education spokesperson Shanderia Minor told USA TODAY in an Aug. 1 email.

Minor described the Mississippi State Board of Education's recent vote to remove language from a policy dating back to 1990 that prohibited people outside of law enforcement from bringing weapons onto school campuses. The policy conflicted with a 2011 state law that allows people with enhanced carry licenses to bring guns onto public school grounds, as reported by The Associated Press.

The action was adopted as a temporary rule subject to a 25-day public comment period. The board expects to review feedback at its September meeting, The Associated Press also reported.

Under the temporary rule, Minor said districts have the “authority and discretion to determine their local policy." When asked whether and how many districts around the state are opting to allow employees to carry guns on campus, Minor said “the MDE does not have such information.”

The department acknowledged “misinformation” about the new policy in a July 21 press release that clarified the recent action “does not give school personnel the ability to carry guns in schools.”

The department, in a document outlining which parts of the previous policy were removed, included a 2013 opinion from then-Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood that said on-campus gun policies could vary by district.

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“A school district may, in its discretion, prohibit its employees who hold enhanced carry licenses from possessing weapons at the school. In the alternative, a school district may, in its discretion, allow its employees with enhanced carry licenses to carry weapons…” Hood wrote.

The Mississippi Attorney General’s Office did not respond to USA TODAY’s request for comment.

Our rating: False

Based on our research, we rate FALSE the claim that Mississippi just passed a law allowing all teachers with permits to carry guns on campus. The Mississippi State Board of Education voted to remove language from a policy prohibiting guns on campus in order to comply with a state law from 2011, but each school district can decide whether it allows them.

Our fact-check sources:

• Shanderia Minor, Aug. 1, Email to USA TODAY

• The Associated Press, July 25, Mississippi schools could make their own gun policies

• Mississippi Department of Education, July 21, MDE responds to misinformation about the SBE’s policy update regarding weapons on school campuses

• Mississippi Department of Education, July 21, Summary of the State Board of Education Agenda Items

• Mississippi Today, July 21, Guns have been allowed in Mississippi schools (for some people) since 2012

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fact check: Districts can allow Mississippi school staff to carry guns