President Donald Trump has faced criticism from within his own party over his push to arm teachers. | Olivier Douliery/AFP/Getty Images Trump says decision to arm teachers is 'up to states'

President Donald Trump on Saturday said it should be "up to states" to decide whether to arm teachers, a new twist to a proposal the president has repeatedly and controversially floated in the wake of the recent mass school shooting in Parkland, Florida.

"Armed Educators (and trusted people who work within a school) love our students and will protect them," the president wrote on Twitter. "Very smart people. Must be firearms adept & have annual training. Should get yearly bonus. Shootings will not happen again - a big & very inexpensive deterrent. Up to States."


According to a CBS News report, eight states allow teachers to carry concealed carry in the classroom. The idea, backed by the pro-gun National Rifle Association, is also being considered by lawmakers in four other states.

Organizations representing teachers, school resource officers and principals have condemned such a policy. Instead some officials point to investing more in school resource officers, who are specially trained law enforcement officers detailed to some schools.

Trump floated the idea of paying teachers a bonus to undergo firearms training on Thursday. On Tuesday, he directed the Department of Justice to tailor regulations to ban "bump stocks," an accessory that allows a semiautomatic gun to mimic a fully automatic weapon's firing rate, an action that likely would be taken at the federal level.

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The debate over arming teachers has been reignited by the Feb. 14 mass shooting at a Parkland, Fla., high school where 17 people were killed. Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School had a school resource officer on duty but, according to Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel, that officer did not enter the building where the gunman was firing. The officer has since taken retirement.

Trump has faced criticism from within his own party over his push to arm teachers. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Florida Gov. Rick Scott both oppose such a move, as doe Massachusetts' Republican Gov. Charlie Baker.

"The notion that my kids are going to school with teachers that are armed with a weapon is not something, quite frankly, I'm comfortable with," Rubio said during a CNN town hall with survivors and family members of the Florida shooting. "Beyond it, I think it has practical problems, and I'll share what they are. And this is really about the safety of the teachers as much as anything else."

Texas created a program to train and arm "school marshals," which includes teachers, principals, coaches and custodians among others. In Colorado, school districts can designate "armed safety officers," which can include teachers, who are required to pass a three-day training process that includes a simulated school shooting scenario.

"There is not a schools person I know who would make this case in any credible manner,” said Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, said recently. “Anyone who suggests this has no real understanding of what goes on in schools, or worse doesn’t care, and is more focused on the needs of gun manufacturers and the NRA than of children.”