A new Idaho state law takes effect July 1 and applies to people with an enhanced license to carry concealed weapons, along with retired law enforcement officers.
Public colleges and universities in Idaho are getting ready to comply with a new state law they strongly opposed: allowing concealed weapons to be carried on campus.
The law takes effect July 1 and applies to people with an enhanced license to carry concealed weapons, along with retired law-enforcement officers. College leaders universally opposed the law, but pro-gun-rights lawmakers pushed it through the Legislature this year.
Now college administrators and campus-security departments are preparing for the new reality: guns in lecture halls, labs, offices, cafeterias — everywhere but dormitories and entertainment venues with seating for more than 1,000, like stadiums and auditoriums.
“We intend to follow the law. Really, we don’t discuss the merits of the law. That was done, the law passed. We’re talking about implementation,” said Matt Dorschel, executive director of public safety and security at the University of Idaho in Moscow.
Higher-education leaders are revising campus-weapons policies to comply with the new law, although bans on openly carrying guns are expected to remain in effect.
Some colleges also plan to beef up their security. North Idaho College (NIC) in Coeur d’Alene will provide its security officers with bulletproof vests plus training related to concealed-weapon laws, and it may expand its seven-person security force by one full-time and one part-time position.
NIC also is mulling whether to arm its security workers for the first time, said Alex Harris, director of student development.
“I don’t know if we’ll go that direction, but it’s definitely out there and we’re considering it,” Harris said.
Another option, he said, is to work with the Coeur d’Alene Police Department to station a school resource officer on campus, similar to the officers present in middle and high schools.
All of these measures are unforeseen expenses at a time of budget cuts due to falling enrollment, Harris said. NIC’s enrollment this year dropped 11 percent from the previous school year — a trend that corresponds to the improving economy.
The vests will cost about $8,000, and arming and training security officers would cost $10,000 a year. The new security officers, or a school resource officer, would cost about $60,000 a year.
The 12,000-student University of Idaho anticipates no significant changes for its security force. The Moscow Police Department can respond quickly to emergencies on campus, and a university task force implementing the new law is not likely to recommend arming campus security, Dorschel said.
“We don’t think that anything about the law would impact our need to have other armed responders on campus,” he said.