A school board at a southwest Ohio district where a student shot and wounded two classmates has voted to allow teachers and staff to carry weapons.

The Madison Local School District board voted unanimously on Tuesday to allow employees to 'defend and protect students.'

James Austin Hancock was 14 when he opened fire at Madison Junior-Senior High School in February 2016. Two students were wounded and two others were injured in the ensuing melee.

The Madison Local School District board voted unanimously on Tuesday to allow employees to 'defend and protect students'

The new policy says staff members who wish to carry a firearm must receive written authorization from the superintendent, have a concealed carry permit and undergo active shooter training.

Parents and students voiced objections to the new policy, according to WLW-TV.

'Studies have shown time and time again, the more weapons we add into a community, the less secure, the less safe it is,' mother Sandra Ison said.

James Austin Hancock was 14 when he opened fire at Madison Junior-Senior High School in February 2016. Two students were wounded and two others were injured in the ensuing melee.

Cooper Caffrey, now 16, and 42 other students walked out of class on March 14, a month after 17 people were killed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida

School district officials haven't said when the policy will be implemented.

Last month, dozens of students were given detention in the same district for participating in nationwide walkouts protesting gun violence in schools.

Cooper Caffrey, 16, and 42 other students walked out of class on March 14, a month after 17 people were killed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.

Caffrey was one of the two students shot in the February 2016 shooting. After his detention, he attended a Madison Local School District meeting where the school board first began discussing the program to arm teachers.

The next day, he began a petition to protest the idea of arming teachers.

The Madison schools are north of Cincinnati in Butler County.