*By Amanda Weston*
As the question of arming school teachers with guns persists, the president of the American Federation of Teachers thinks the plan is misguided ー and dangerous.
"There are so many different reasons why, pedagogically, it's horrible ー why logically it's insane," Randi Weingarten said Wednesday in an interview on Cheddar. "Schools should be safe havens, not armed fortresses."
Last week, [the New York Times reported](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/22/us/politics/betsy-devos-guns.html) that Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos is looking into whether Student Support and Academic Enrichment grants, which don't explicitly include a ban on buying guns, can be used to fund arming teachers for their protection.
The $1 billion program is part of 2015's Every Student Succeeds Act. Weingarten said the act was designed to help students at the country's poorest schools by paying for support like guidance counselors or summer school classes.
"She wants to basically give federal money that goes for poor kids, for social, emotional well-being, and give it to the gun manufacturers," Weingarten said.
Almost 200 House Democrats [wrote a letter to DeVos on Tuesday](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/education/wp/2018/08/28/house-democrats-push-betsy-devos-to-reject-funding-for-guns-in-schools/?utm_term=.e60ad238e13e) urging her to abandon her study.
[The letter noted](http://democrats-edworkforce.house.gov/imo/media/doc/2018-08-28%20Letter%20to%20DeVos%20on%20Guns.pdf) when Congress authorized the STOP School Violence Act after February's deadly shooting in Parkland, Fla., it prohibited program funds being used for firearms or firearms training.
"Congressional opposition to the implementation of federal funds for guns in schools is not open to interpretation," Democrats wrote.
But Weingarten said the opposition won't likely shake DeVos.
"She's going to listen to Vice President Pence and to the NRA, not to any of us," she said.
The attack at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School that left a total of 17 dead initially seemed to drum up bipartisan support for action on gun control, though those efforts again seem to have cooled off. Weingarten is still shocked the latest measure is even up for discussion.
"I cannot believe I'm actually talking about this," she said.
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/aft-president-using-federal-money-for-guns-in-schools-is-insane).
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