State Rep. Johnny Mack Morrow, D-Red Bay, is continuing conversations about his proposal to allow school teachers to become reserve deputies or reserve police officers.

He said there are differences between his idea, which he will put on paper as a bill in the upcoming legislative session, and other ideas to arm teachers in the wake of the Newtown, Conn., school shooting.

“We’re not arming school employees; we’re arming reserve deputies who happen to be teachers,” Morrow said Thursday after meeting with three dozen Franklin County school administrators and law enforcement officials.

“We’ve had reserve deputies forever in Alabama,” Morrow told the TimesDaily. “Now, let’s bring it into the schools.”

Morrow’s proposal would require that local law enforcement train and oversee this “emergency security force” that could include retired school employees.

Funding for training and weapons would come from the state’s education budget, Morrow said.