The Mid-Hudson News Network is reporting a teacher’s aide at the Jesse J. Kaplan School in West Nyack was arrested for bringing a loaded gun to the school, authorities said. The school, located in Rockland County, serves an autistic student body ages 5 to 21. Police said the 9mm handgun was discovered in the handbag owned by Gillian Jeffords, 24, of Warwick, Orange County. “At no point was this weapon used in a threatening manner or at no point was this weapon displayed,” Clarkstown Police Officer Peter Walker said. “The teacher’s aide was removed from the school and transported to police headquarters for further investigation.” Jefford, an employee of Rockland County BOCES [BOE-ceez], was charged with criminal possession of a weapon on school grounds, a felony. She was fired after initially being suspended. Amid the heated national debate over whether teachers and other school personnel should carry guns, the Associated Press is reporting armed security officers are becoming more common in schools across the country, according to a federal study released March 29. The study found that while student and staff fatalities at school persist, students are reporting fewer instances of violence, theft and other abuse during the past decade. Armed officers were present at least once a week in 43 percent of all public schools during the 2015-16 school year, compared with 31 percent of schools a decade before, according to data from the survey conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics. Read both stories in the Daily Freeman.