Schools may be gun-free zones, but the U.S. Department of Education is locked and loaded.

The agency put in an order this month for 27 new short-barreled shotguns to replace some of its aging arsenal.

You didn't know that the Education Department had an arsenal?

The department and other federal agencies have weapons because the Homeland Security Act of 2002 and some earlier laws empowered agents in their offices of inspector general to carry firearms.

More than just eagle-eyed numbers crunchers poring over records for waste and fraud involving federal tax dollars, special agents for the inspectors general actually hit the streets to round up the bad guys.

"Major (inspectors general) not only perform audits and review the efficiency of federal programs, they also conduct extensive criminal investigations," said Paul Feeney, a spokesman for the inspector general at the Department of Agriculture. "Many people may not be aware of the dangerous circumstances that agents may encounter."