Earlier today, the Senate education committee had the opportunity to listen to state education leaders and advocates regarding the implementation of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), the federal law that replaced ‘No Child Left Behind’ in 2015.

The hearing, titled ‘The Every Student Succeeds Act: States Leading The Way’, covered a range of issues including educational equity, disparities in discipline for students of color, the services being provided to students with disabilities, and accountability systems.

Perhaps the one topic that got the most play in the hearing however, was the concept of using federal dollars to arm and train teachers with guns, an action President Trump floated and subsequently backed after the Parkland school shooting.

Although Trump has argued that “well-trained, gun-adept teachers and coaches” should carry firearms in schools, a plan supported by the NRA, there was little to no support for any measure of that type at today’s hearing, especially in the form of any federal funding.

Our volunteers are out in force at a Senate hearing on Capitol Hill today to make it clear we oppose ANY proposal to use federal tax dollars to allow schools to buy guns. Go, Moms, go! #BooksNotBullets pic.twitter.com/wlzsXa4RV1 — Moms Demand Action (@MomsDemand) September 25, 2018

Moms Demand Action, the grassroots organization founded after the devastating shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary school, filled many of the seats at the hearing to protest the idea of federal dollars going to put more guns in schools and got shoutouts from multiple lawmakers on the committee.

A large portion of the hearing saw saw senators on the Democratic side of the aisle use their time to raise questions and concerns about the Trump administration’s idea of bringing more guns into schools and training teachers and faculty to use them.

Some highlights from the hearing:

Senator Doug Jones, the red-state Democrat who narrowly defeated Roy Moore, called the idea of arming teachers “the dumbest idea I think I’ve ever heard.”

.@SenDougJones calls arming teachers "The dumbest idea that I think I've ever heard in the educational field." #ESSA — Politics K-12 (@PoliticsK12) September 25, 2018

Senator Elizabeth Warren argued that congress shouldn’t be doing the NRA’s bidding, and called any plan to spend federal dollars to put more guns in schools “dangerous and dumb”.

I'm here today to remind Congress we dont work for the NRA. We work for the people. ~@SenWarren #ESSA #NoGunsInSchools — Dana Laurens (@danadlaurens) September 25, 2018

Senator Chris Murphy, a junior United States Senator from Connecticut, asked the panel whether there was any evidence this type of plan would effective.

All 3 state chiefs say they are not aware of any data that shows teachers with guns in schools will make them safer in response to question from @ChrisMurphyCT. #ESSA #NoGunsInSchools — Education Reform Now (@EdReformNowUSA) September 25, 2018

Shavar Jeffries, civil rights attorney and president of Democrats for Education Reform seemed to sum up the thoughts of the lawmakers, protesters, and panelists who argued that using federal dollars that could be going to additional services for students who need them most to bring more guns into schools just doesn’t make sense.

"Absurd on its face" – @shavarjeffries on diverting #ESSA dollars to arming teachers vs. spending on #STEM, music, arts programs and services. — Citizen Ed (@EdCitizen) September 25, 2018

Watch the hearing in its entirety by clicking below: