The panel discussed both sides of the argument regarding whether those with the proper license should be allowed to carry guns on school campuses and what policies are needed to make schools safer.[/caption]

With many saying this legislative session will be the one to approve campus carry legislation after years of failed attempts, a panel of local public and school safety advocates discussed what should be done to keep schools safe.

A March 11 panel at SXSWedu included Daniel Crocker, a Texas police officer and EMS responder; John Woods, co-founder of Texas Gun Sense who graduated from Virginia Tech weeks after the 2007 mass shooting; and Morgan Craven, attorney with Texas Appleseed who researches school safety policies.

Plenty of guns are already on school campuses today, but they're there illegally because of current Texas state law, Crocker said. In Texas, someone with a concealed carry license must be at least 21 years of age and go through four to six hours of training. Allowing licensed adults to carry guns with them on campus will make campuses safer in the possible event of an attack, Crocker said.

However, after speaking with survivors of the shooting at Virginia Tech, Woods said not a single one of them had the thought of "I wish I had a gun with me so I could stop this." Instead of talking about bringing more guns to campus in addition to those already in schools through police and campus safety officers, the discussion at Texas Legislature should be about beefing up background checks, Woods said.

One way to make K-12 schools safer that would not be subject to the campus carry legislation currently proposed is to change how police at those schools are interacting with students, Craven said. Teachers can give students misdemeanor charges for making disturbing noises in class while police can use batons, tasers and pepper spray on students. That kind of environment creates tension and an atmosphere that can push students into interacting with the justice system and a higher likelihood of becoming criminals, Craven said.