(CNN) Alabama school administrators, who get approval from local authorities and go through training, will be permitted to have guns at schools under a new state program.

Administrators who meet the requirements would be able to "use lethal force to defend the students, faculty, staff, and visitors of his or her school from the threat of imminent bodily harm or death by an armed intruder," according to a memo signed by Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey on Wednesday.

In order to qualify for the newly created Alabama Sentry Program, school administrators would need approval from their county sheriff, local superintendent and school board, to have firearms to respond to school shootings.

Under the voluntary program, only schools that don't have a school resource officer will be allowed to participate.

An Alabama school safety task force that was assembled after the Parkland, Florida, shooting recommended school resource officers for all districts. Until there are more such officers throughout the state, the sentry program is a way to protect students, Ivey said.