The Latest: Push to arm teachers part of Trump's school plan
By Associated Press
Mar 11, 2018 6:45 PM CDT
FILE - In this Feb. 14, 2018 file photo, students hold their hands in the air as they are evacuated by police from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., after a shooter opened fire on the campus. Emergency calls from parents and students during the Florida high school massacre show...   (Associated Press)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on President Donald Trump's plan in response to school shootings (all times local):

7:45 p.m.

President Donald Trump's plan to combat school shootings will include a push to arm teachers and other school personnel and improve the federal background check system.

But Trump's plan will not include an explicit call on states to increase the minimum age for purchasing assault weapons, as Trump had previously advocated.

Instead, a new federal commission on school safety will examine that proposal, as well as others, as part of a longer-term examination of school safety issues and violence.

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos says that, "far too often, the focus" after shootings has been "only on the most contentious fights, the things that have divided people and sent them into their entrenched corners."

She says Trump's effort is "a pragmatic plan" that will "dramatically" improve safety in schools.

___

7:15 p.m.

The White House says President Donald Trump's plan to combat school shootings will include the creation of a new task force and an effort to "harden" schools so they're less vulnerable to attack.

But an official says the Trump plan will not include a call on states to increase the minimum age for purchasing assault weapons, as Trump has previously advocated. The official says that issue will be left to the task force to discuss.

The White House plans to release more details about the plan Sunday night, nearly a month after the school shooting in Parkland, Florida, which left 17 students and staff dead.

In the weeks since the massacre, Trump has held listening sessions with lawmakers, survivors of recent school shootings and the families of victims.

___

12:10 p.m.

White House spokesman Raj Shah says President Donald Trump's plan to combat school shootings will include an effort to "harden" schools so they're less vulnerable to attacks.

Shah says Trump will be reiterating his call for improvements to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System in the wake of a school shooting in Parkland, Florida, that killed 17 students and staff last month.

He says Trump will recommend that states raise the legal age to purchase certain firearms to 21 and will call for a task force to study the issue in more depth.

The White House has repeatedly pushed back the date for delivering its formal recommendations.

Shah spoke Sunday on ABC's "This Week."