FASTER Trains School Teachers to Shoot Back in Ohio

By Ready to Fire News Last updated Nov 6, 2019

Many teachers in Ohio are ready to defend their schools thanks to a new firearms training program called FASTER.

The name of the program is an acronym for “faculty/administrator safety training and emergency response.” Their motto is FASTER saves lives. In addition to firearms training, the program also prepares teachers to resolve tense situations in a number of other helpful ways.

As a non-profit company, these highly specialized training classes are provided for free to any teacher in Ohio that wants to take them. The positive response to the program is an indication that teachers will feel more prepared to deal with violent situations that arise in their schools when they can take part in FASTER.

Let’s take a closer look at a program that could change and save lives.

How the Program Works

This program is a three-day intensive training session that goes above and beyond what educators are required to take as part of the Ohio peace officer training program. With the goal of violence prevention, this allows teachers and administrators on school property to be able to have an armed response to gun violence at schools. The intent is not to replace police officers. Instead, the goal is to give the schools an extra edge to save lives before law enforcement arrives on the scene.

The class also includes some emergency medical and on-site crisis management training on how to best deal with a violent situation when it comes up. Teachers who take part in this three-day program also have their lodging and tuition paid for by the Buckeye Firearms Foundation.

The Buckeye Firearms Foundation

The non-profit group is called the Buckeye Firearms Foundation, which has been around since 2013. They also take donations through their website in order to keep this program free of charge to all educators that want to take part. The organization’s president also talks about the program in this explanatory video on YouTube, detailing “how and why” the program works.

They even make recommendations about what type of firearms are best, and the gear that might be needed to go with armed staff. The general recommendation for gun type is a full sized 9mm semi-automatic. A Glock 19 or Smith and Wesson M&P 9 are two of the gun types that they talk about on the website. The group also recommends holsters, magazines, eye and ear protection, and gun belts.

Other States Will Soon Follow

Other states ideally will use the FASTER training program as a model for their own school-based gun safety classes. The idea that educators in the classroom can be considered “peace officers” is becoming more acceptable as a way to stem the violence of school shootings. School boards around the states are the ones who will be able to vote on whether or not to allow this kind of violence prevention program to be allowed in their school districts.