Northwest College is ready for new state law going into effect July 1 that eliminates gun free zones in most areas of the campus by adopting a policy of its own. 

Trustees unanimously approved the policy on second reading Tuesday that verifies the college is abiding by the new state statute. Along with that are procedures that go into more detail on the rules and responsibilities for those on campus who do choose to carry. 

“I feel like there are people who have feelings about this policy, obviously, and I don't want to discredit that, but the reality is we're faced with legal statute, and so we have to implement something,” President Lisa Watson said at the monthly trustees meeting held in the new student center’s multipurpose room. 

Unlike K-12 schools which can adopt a policy requiring employees to undergo training before being allowed to carry, colleges don’t have much choice in the matter beyond restricting concealed carry access in certain spaces such as a chemistry lab where the presence of a firearm could lead to higher risk of an incident. 

The policy aligns with state law mandated by House Bill 172, which was overwhelmingly passed by the Legislature — including all county legislators — and which Gov. Mark Gordon allowed to become law without his signature. 

The policy fits in with the new law in specifically allowing only those ages 21 and older who have a valid concealed carry permit to concealed carry. Those who do are also allowed to secure their weapon in a vehicle, office or on-campus residence only if it is in a biometric container or an approved safe. 

Trustee Tara Kuipers said her comfort level with the policy rose when she saw the procedures that go along with it. 

“This was such a new area of policy creation to understand what the procedure was going to look like, I think had we just approved those three key areas of policy, it would have been just really hard to know for myself, but also, I'm sure, for others reading the packet and for the public members of our campus community, just to really think about how this will look in day to day life,” she said. “While I know, while we are not approving procedure, that having that supporting information made the whole thing come together.”

The new law will also be integrated into security plans and training. Watson said they’ll be holding ALICE active shooter trainings for both employees and students. 

“It's a big policy shift for us. We're also very limited in what we can do as an institution, and so we have to be cognizant of that all the while thinking about how we're going to operationally manage the policy,” Watson said. “I do know that there are some districts and some colleges who have wondered about the passage of any policy, and there are those in the legal world who think that any and all of these policies can be fought in a court of law … But most people felt like we probably just needed to step into some type of policy so that it was clear, and we're trying to help educate people on the issues.”

Other policy alignments

The trustees changed a handful of other policies to be in line with new state statute banning Diversity, Equity and Inclusion programs. 

The staff discipline policy was also amended to address potential issues with an employee not following the concealed carry policy.