Mandatory firearm safety lessons to begin

2:11 p.m. Oct. 3, 2025

Mandatory firearm safety classes

DUANE CROSS
MCO Publisher•Editor

Starting in the 2025-26 school year, all Tennessee public schools will be required to provide annual firearm safety instruction to students in kindergarten through 12th grade under a new state law.

The law, TCA § 49-6-1016, passed in 2024, directs the Departments of Education and Safety, along with the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, to develop the curriculum in consultation with the Fish and Wildlife Commission. The goal is to provide students with practical, age-appropriate safety skills without engaging in political debates over gun rights or restrictions.

The lessons will not use live firearms, ammunition, or live fire. Instead, students will be taught concepts such as safe storage, school-related firearm safety, and what to do if they encounter a gun. For younger children, the focus is on the simple rules: Stop, Don’t Touch, Leave, and Tell an Adult.

Local schools are now preparing to roll out the new instruction.

• LES Firearms Safety Letter
• MCHS Firearms Safety Letter

At Lynchburg Elementary School, Principal Brooke Lindsey announced that students in grades K–5 will learn from the Eddie Eagle program, which uses videos, printed materials, and songs to teach firearm safety in a child-friendly format. Counselors, teachers, and the school’s resource officer will deliver the lessons. Sixth graders will continue instruction through classroom presentations led by the school counselor and a designated safety instructor.

Parents may request to opt their children out by submitting a form before Nov. 1.

At Moore County High School, students in grades 7–12 will receive firearm safety instruction during regular class periods, led by their teachers. The high school emphasized that the training will remain viewpoint-neutral, steering clear of political issues such as gun control or the Second Amendment.

State law requires that all Local Education Agencies (LEAs) and public charter schools adopt the instruction annually. School resource officers and other local officials will also play a role in delivering the content.

With Tennessee joining other states that have adopted school-based firearm safety programs, the 2025 rollout marks a significant shift in how safety education is approached in classrooms across the state.

“Ultimately, the purpose is prevention,” Moore County High School administrators said. “We want students to know what to do if they ever come across a firearm so that accidents and injuries can be avoided.”