Washington, March 29: Armed security officers are becoming more prevalent at America's schools, according to a federal study released today amid a heated debate over whether teachers and other school officials should carry guns. Armed officers were present at least once a week in 43 per cent of all public schools during the 2015-16 school year, compared with 31 percent of schools a decade before, according to data from a survey conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics.

Last month's mass shooting at a Florida high school put a renewed focus on the role of armed school security guards after a video showed that a sheriff's deputy at the school approached but did not enter the building where the attack was taking place.

The study came out a day after Education Secretary Betsy DeVos kicked off a federal school safety panel. DeVos has said that schools should have the option to arm teachers. She's being criticized by teachers' unions for not including educators, students and experts in the panel, which consists only of her and three other Cabinet secretaries. The percentage of schools with a security guard, a school resource officer or other sworn law enforcement officer on campus at least once a week has gone up from 42 per cent in 2005-06 to 57 per cent a decade later.

While security at schools of all grade levels increased, the shift is clearer among elementary schools, where the share of security staff has gone from 26 percent to 45 percent in the same time period. "There has been an increase in security staff in school over the last 10 years and it's more pronounced at the primary school level," said Lauren Musu-Gillette, lead author of the report.

Experts, however, are divided on whether putting such officers on school campuses will make the schools safer or frighten children and lead to more arrests. "There needs to be at least one in every school in the country," said Mo Canady, executive director of the National Association of School Resource Officers. "Every school could benefit from one."

School resource officers have sworn law enforcement personnel who have been trained to work in schools. Their duties include controlling outside traffic, patrolling the school, maintaining discipline, identifying problems and mentoring at-risk students, teaching law-related classes and serving as liaisons between schools and police.

The school security study released Thursday includes school resource officers, other sworn law enforcement, and additional security staff. Ronald Stephens, executive director of the National School Safety Council, agrees, saying that trained officers carrying weapons can help prevent a shooting inside the school and deter a possible shooter from entering. "It sends the signal that the school is being watched and that the care and supervision of children is an important priority," Stephens said.