New School Year Brings Mandatory Gun Safety Lessons For Students In Some States

Kindergartners across the country are filing into classrooms this fall where they can expect lessons on the alphabet, numbers and patterns. In Tennessee, the state’s 5-year-olds will also learn to identify a trigger, a barrel and a muzzle as they’re introduced to rudimentary gun safety.

All students in Tennessee public and charter schools must begin annual firearm safety lessons this year after the state became the first to pass a law requiring the training. While the guidelines vary by grade, themes for all ages include safe firearms storage, school safety and injury prevention.

The training represents an unprecedented approach to curbing gun injuries, whether from the mishandling of weapons or violent crimes. Guns are the leading cause of death in children and adolescents in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; in 2022, Tennessee’s firearm-related deaths involving children were 37 percent higher than the national average. Efforts to strengthen gun storage requirements in the state — which, experts say, are crucial to protecting children — have stalled.

Last week’s shooting at a Catholic school in Minneapolis reignited the debate over protecting children from gun violence through stronger gun control. More than 397,000 students have experienced gun violence at school since 1999.