U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos may have said that the Federal Commission on School Safety would not focus on guns, but those who spoke at the commission’s "listening session" Wednesday offered strong opinions on reducing gun violence in schools and rejected the idea that arming teachers or other school personnel is a good idea.

"This commission should look at guns," Michael Yin, who graduated Tuesday from Montgomery Blair High School in Silver Spring, Md., and is 2018 Presidential Scholar, said during the session, which was live streamed. "Rather than being a sign of cowardice, it would show great courage for this commission and this administration to make our schools and our students and our entire country safer even when it is hard, even when it is about guns."

On Tuesday, DeVos, who did not attend Wednesday’s session because she was traveling in Europe to observe apprenticeship and vocational education programs, told a Senate subcommittee that the commission is not focusing primarily on gun policy, according to CNN. The commission’s website, however, notes that the members were charged with developing "meaningful and actionable" school safety recommendations that include discussing minimum ages for firearm purchases, as well as addressing social-emotional issues, school safety infrastructure and the impact of violence in video games and the media. The commission is expected to complete its work at the end of the year.

Perhaps because of DeVos' statements, Deputy Secretary Mick Zais, who presided over the session, said that he wanted to clarify that the commission would not be considering confiscating Americans' guns, but that it would look at "specific age limits for the purchase of specific kinds of weapons" and examine "legal procedures for the confiscation of weapons from people with identified mental health issues."

Speakers call for wraparound services, privacy protections

Increasing the availability of trained school resource officers and expanding access to mental health services for students were among the top recommendations members of education organizations and the public made during the session. Several speakers also asked the commission to reject any consideration of rescinding the Obama-era guidance related to Title VI of the Civil Rights Act — which states that the U.S. Department of Education (ED) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) will investigate complaints of discipline policies and practices that discriminate based on students' "personal characteristics" — should be maintained and that it improves school safety.

That guidance was the topic of two April "listening sessions" held on the same day, in which DeVos first heard from those who want to maintain the guidance and then met with those who argue it should be rescinded. Opponents of the guidance say that the policy is an example of government overreach, and that school leaders are reluctant to address "troubling, sometimes violent behavior" when they are told to reduce suspensions among disabled and minority students. DeVos has indicated she’s considering rescinding the guidance.