Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey (R) on Wednesday announced a plan to allow school principals and other administrators access to weapons stored on school grounds, according to The Associated Press.

The School Sentry Program, as it is called, would give a school administrator access to a weapon secured in a fingerprint-controlled safe in schools that do not have law enforcement on campus.

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The AP reports that the program is voluntary and that the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency will oversee training. Ivey told the news outlet that a school safety task force suggested placing more officers in schools, but she said the Sentry Program could also serve as a means for protection.

A proposal to allow teachers to carry or have access to guns in Alabama did not pass during this year's legislative session.

Lawmakers across the nation have grappled with different measures this year in the wake of mass shootings at high schools in Parkland, Fla., and Santa Fe, Texas.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) on Wednesday announced a plan that would, in part, fund firearms training programs for school officials.

"This plan is a starting point, not an ending place,” Abbott said in a statement. “It provides strategies that can be used before the next school year begins to keep our students safe when they return to school. This plan will make our schools safer and our communities safer.”