(Radio Iowa) – The first semester of this school year will be well underway before the rules are in effect for a law designed to help Iowa districts get insurance if school staff are armed. A spokesperson for the Iowa Department of Public Safety told Iowa Public Radio it’ll be two months before the review process for those rules is completed.

Two years ago school boards in Cherokee and Spirit Lake voted to have armed staff members, but dropped the policy after their insurance carrier said it would not renew their coverage.

The new law spells out the requirements for a professional permit to carry a weapon at school and school boards may vote to allow teachers and staff who get a permit to have a gun on school grounds. The law is written so school employees would be shielded from liability if they use reasonable force, but it’s still not clear if the insurance company that covers most school districts will issue policies to districts if teachers and staff who are armed.

An E-M-C Insurance spokesperson says the company is reviewing the law and analyzing its options.