Firearm safety instruction in TN public schools to start this year

The Tennessee General Assembly passed a law requiring firearm safety instruction for all public schools in 2024 and those classes will begin across Tennessee school systems this year. The training comes in the form of educational videos, with separate presentations for kindergarten through second grade, third through fifth grade and sixth through twelfth grade students. Last April, nonpartisan nonprofit Voices for a Safer Tennessee found the state ranked third in the nation for unintentional shootings by children, and victims are most often children themselves. The Tennessee Department of Education notes that each video is apolitical and the training does not include the use or presence of live ammunition or live fire. The department added it’s up to each individual school district to decide on how to implement the curriculum.