The proposed language would permit administrators, employees, independent contractors and parents to leave a legally owned firearm in a vehicle on campus, provided the weapon is secured and not readily accessible. Students would not be covered by the policy. The measure could also extend to school-sponsored activities, raising questions about football games and other events that draw large crowds of students, parents and staff into parking lots.

The proposal emerged weeks after school police, acting on an anonymous tip, found a firearm Sept. 15 inside the vehicle of Principal Michael Smith. Smith was reassigned away from campus and issued a misdemeanor criminal citation. District officials said there was no indication he intended to harm anyone. The board is also set to vote Monday on whether to terminate Smith.

At the time, Superintendent Christopher Bernier said firearms on school campuses were dangerous and illegal. "At no time is it safe for anyone to be on our campuses with a gun," Bernier said Sept. 15.

The debate has split board members. Vice Chair April Carney argued that teachers and staff should not lose the ability to defend themselves simply because they are at work, describing a scenario in which a young teacher leaving a football game late is targeted in a carjacking.

"What happens if that 28-year-old teacher is the last person to leave the football game, and that's gas on the way home and is attempted a carjacking and has no way to defend herself?" Carney said. "She's the responsible gun owner. She's keeping that sucker locked in her car so that she can get home to her family safely."

Board member Cindy Pearson said she doubted the policy would improve safety. "I don't think it is going to make our school safer," Pearson said. "I'm really struggling to find a way to say that having more guns in cars or having guns in cars in parking lots, especially during sporting events, is going to create a safer atmosphere for our students and staff."

Pearson also asked how often vehicle break-ins occur in school parking lots and whether allowing firearms inside cars could create an additional security risk. Board member Melody Bolduc questioned how often someone has left a school building, retrieved a gun from a vehicle and then threatened someone.

District officials said they plan to work with school police and the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office to examine incidents and altercations involving weapons over the past five years.

Florida law already includes an exception allowing a firearm to remain in a vehicle on school property under certain circumstances, and it permits school districts to adopt policies restricting that exception. Monday's vote will determine how Duval County Public Schools, the state's largest school district by enrollment, chooses to apply that discretion.

The meeting is scheduled for Monday night. The outcome will shape security rules for tens of thousands of students and the adults who work and gather at district campuses and athletic events.