BOISE — A bill to let school employees with enhanced concealed carry permits to carry handguns in school will not move forward this year.

The Senate State Affairs Committee voted 5-4 Friday to hold the bill in committee, with three Republicans including Senate President Pro Tempore Brent Hill, R-Rexburg, joining the panel's two Democrats on the vote.

Several of the bill's opponents said they were worried the bill didn't require more extensive or continued training requirement for school employees who wish to carry.

The bill would require them to have an enhanced concealed carry permit, which requires a handgun course and some range time to receive, but once someone has an enhanced permit they can renew it without additional training and the bill wouldn't have required any training beyond the permit.

While school districts can let employees carry weapons now if the school board signs off, only a handful have done so. Sponsor Sen. Todd Lakey, R-Nampa, said the lack of action made a statewide solution needed.

“This is about having that opportunity to choose to be the right person in the right place in the right time,” he said.

The bill’s supporters said it could help protect Idaho children against a school shooter by giving teachers who want to carry a chance to defend their students, while opponents said it could make them more unsafe by putting guns in schools in the hands of people with inadequate training.

"The Idaho enhanced concealed weapons license requires absolutely minimal training," said Vaughn Killeen, executive director of the Idaho Sheriffs Association, whose organization voted to oppose the bill.

The Idaho Chiefs of Police Association didn’t take a formal position on the bill, although Meridian Police Chief Jeff Lavey spent much of his time before the committee objecting to aspects of it and saying it should be a local decision.

“I think this conversation should be in front of the Board of Trustees about why or why not you don’t have teachers armed in your schools,” he said.

Although the committee rejected that bill, it did vote along party lines to advance another bill backed by gun rights supporters to let U.S. citizens over 18 who don't live in Idaho carry a concealed handgun in city limits without a permit.

"We can't have a crime in Idaho that can only be committed by citizens of other states," said Senate sponsor Jim Rice, R-Caldwell.

Idaho has allowed anyone who can legally own a gun to carry concealed outside of city limits since 2015, and in 2016 lawmakers started to allow Idaho residents to carry concealed within city limits. However, non-residents still need a permit within a city for the time being.