NRA School Shield: 5 Things To Know About The NRA’s School Safety Plan

A 12-member task force commissioned by the NRA unveiled its 225-page, $1 million report on Tuesday, outlining a package of alternatives to the new gun controls currently being considered by Congress in the wake of the Newtown school shootings. The task force, led by former Republican Rep. Asa Hutchinson, included a former head of the Secret Service, police and security officers and five representatives from Phoenix RBT Solutions, a law enforcement training firm, reports Reuters.

1. The report recommends that armed school personnel be placed on every campus in every school.

Personnel could be staff or even teachers, although Hutchinson also said that "teachers should teach." The report doesn't specify what kind of firearms should be carried, though Hutchinson said that firearms could range from "sidearms, to shotguns, to AR-15s." The AR-15 is a semi-automatic assault rifle. He emphasized that the program would be exclusively for those interested in undergoing 40-60 hours of firearms training, with the NRA offering its services as a training institution. The report included the proposal of a model training program which Hutchinson said would cost about $800 to $1,000 per trained employee, who would also have to undergo a "background investigation, testing, and [have] relevant experience."

2. The idea of arming community volunteers was scrapped.

The idea first proposed by NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre the week after the Newtown shootings -- that community volunteers be armed to protect schools -- was not included in the task force's report. Hutchinson said it had been met with "great reluctance" from school superintendents. The Huffington Post reported that the Randi Weingarten, the president of the American Federation of Teachers, called the report "a cruel hoax that will fail to keep our children and schools safe." The teachers' union supports legislation for greater gun control and opposes arming educators.

3. It includes eight recommendations in total.

Aside from arming school personnel, the report recommends: an online self-assessment tool which would be used by schools to evaluate the safety of their facilities; changes to state laws to allow school personnel to be armed while they're in training; improving coordination among law enforcement agencies; a pilot program on threat assessment and mental health; increasing federal funding destined toward school safety; encouraging states to incorporate school safety into their educational requirements; and making the task force team into a permanent group.

4. It comes amid fierce debate on proposed gun control legislation.

In Connecticut, the state assembly votes tomorrow on a comprehensive package of gun controls, including background checks on all gun sales, new eligibility certificates required before purchasing weapons or ammo, and new restrictions on assault rifles.

In Alabama, the state Senate will debate a bill drastically scaling back state gun laws. Among other things, it would allow people to carry firearms at public demonstrations.

On the national level, Senate Democrats are expected to consider a package of new gun laws next week which would expand background checks for gun buyers and make gun trafficking a federal crime.

5. The father of a victim of the Newtown school shootings spoke at the presentation of the report.

Matt Mattioli, who lost his 6-year-old son, James, in the shooting, served as a guest speaker.

"Politics needs to be set aside here, I hope this doesn't lead to more name calling. These are recommendations for real solutions that will make our kids safer," Mattioli said.

He has opposed new firearms laws and called for greater efforts to improve the nation's mental health system, according to the LA Times. Other families of Newtown victims have also come out on the issue -- though their stance is at odds with that of Mattioli -- appearing at the White House and in commercials intended to rally support for stricter gun laws.

The New York Times reported that 23,000 schools in the US (about one-third of all public schools) had armed security on staff, as of the 2009 to 2010 school year.