Those following the story of Arkansas school districts’ plans to allow teachers and staff to act as armed security may be experiencing some news whiplash.

First, we noted that  Arkansas’ Clarksville School District ‘s new security plans called for over 20 district employees walking the hallways carrying concealed weapons, making use of a little-known Arkansas law that allows licensed, armed security guards on campus.  Then, the state Attorney General gave an advisory to stop the implementation of those plans.

Now, a special state panel has give the districts clearance to proceed:

A state board voted Wednesday to allow 13 school districts in Arkansas to continue using teachers, administrators and other staff as armed guards, despite a warning from the state’s top attorney that the licensing law they relied upon was intended for private businesses.

After initially voting to revoke two districts’ licenses classifying them as private security firms, the Arkansas Board of Private Investigators and Private Security Agencies decided to allow the schools to keep them for two more years. The panel had voted to suspend the schools’ licenses last month after Attorney General Dustin McDaniel said they shouldn’t have been issued to the schools.

Board members said the two-year reprieve would give the Legislature a chance to look at ways schools could employ their own staff as armed guards. The panel said it won’t accept any new applications from school districts.

In an advisory opinion last month, McDaniel said the licensing law the schools had relied on was intended for private security companies. State law prohibits guns on campus, but an exception is included for licensed security guards.

“We all agree school safety is important,” Ka Tina Hodge, an assistant attorney general, told the panel. “The issue here is whether or not the school is a private business.”

Board Chairman Ralph Sims told reporters that the issue was now up to legislators.

“As it stands now, school districts do not qualify under the definition of a private company or private business, so the Legislature is going to have to make some change or accommodations for a public entity to register their employees as security officers,” Sims said.