State lawmakers in Kansas are considering a proposal that could make schools liable for a shooting if they refuse to allow teachers to carry guns to school.

The bill also would prohibit insurance companies from denying coverage to a school that allows teachers or staff to carry weapons.

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Under Kansas law, teachers are permitted to carry concealed guns. But EMC Insurance Companies — the state's primary school insurer — said it would not provide insurance to schools who arm their teachers, prompting many schools to not allow the practice.

The measure had its first hearing Tuesday in front of the Kansas House Insurance Committee.

The proposal was drafted after the shooting last month at a high school in Parkland, Fla., that left 17 dead, The Associated Press reported.

Critics of the measure warn that it could essentially require the arming of teachers.

“It would certainly open the door for that conversation,” said state Democratic Rep. Brett Parker, a school teacher in the state, according to the AP.

State Rep. Blake Carpenter (R) — who helped to draft the proposal — said he thinks that arming teachers could help to save lives in the event of a shooting.

Carpenter's proposal is a separate one, however, from legislation being pursued by GOP leaders in the state legislature. Their bill focuses on improving school infrastructure to protect students from shooters, rather than arming teachers.

That proposal appears to have broad support, according to the AP.

President Trump Donald John TrumpBubba Wallace to be driver of Michael Jordan, Denny Hamlin NASCAR team Graham: GOP will confirm Trump's Supreme Court nominee before the election Southwest Airlines, unions call for six-month extension of government aid MORE had proposed the idea of arming certain teachers and staff members as a way of protecting schools.