Amends TCA Title 49, Chapter 6.

This bill requires the departments of education and safety, in consultation with the Tennessee fish and wildlife commission, to determine the earliest grade in which it is appropriate for students to begin receiving instruction on firearm safety. In making that determination, this bill requires the departments to study all relevant data and risk factors, including the earliest age at which incidents of injury involving firearms are reported and the earliest age at which children are susceptible to harm from found firearms. ANNUAL INSTRUCTION ON FIREARM SAFETY Beginning with the 2025-2026 school year, this bill requires each LEA and public charter school to annually provide students with age-appropriate and grade-appropriate instruction on firearm safety. The instruction must begin with the earliest appropriate grade, as determined by the departments above, and must continue in each subsequent grade through grade 12. The instruction required must do the following: (1) Teach students safe storage of firearms, school safety relating to firearms, how to avoid injury if the student finds a firearm, to never touch a found firearm, and to immediately notify an adult of the location of a found firearm; (2) Be viewpoint neutral on political topics, such as gun rights, gun violence, and the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution; and (3) Not include the use or presence of live ammunition, live fire, or live firearms. This bill authorizes the instruction to be provided in a classroom setting, through the viewing of a video, or through the review of online resources or materials, as determined by the department of education. Each LEA and public charter school must determine how best to incorporate the instruction into the school year. DEVELOPMENT AND APPROVAL OF CURRICULUM This bill requires the departments of education and safety, in consultation with the Tennessee fish and wildlife commission, to develop or approve a curriculum or program of instruction on firearm safety that meets the requirements of this section and that LEAs and public charter schools are required to implement for purposes of providing the instruction described above. This bill prohibits the departments from approving a curriculum or program of instruction if the curriculum, program of instruction, or any of the instructional materials used as part of the curriculum or program of instruction bear a brand or organizational affiliation. STATE-LEVEL SAFETY TEAM Under present law, there is a state-level safety team, established by the commissioner of education, which assists LEAs and schools with compliance with the Schools Against Violence in Education Act. As part of the assistance, the team publishes a template for use by districts in preparing their district-level safety plans and building-level emergency response plans, which outlines the responsibilities of the LEAs and individual schools in complying with this part. This bill requires that template to include policies and procedures for annual school safety training for all students, teachers, and other school personnel. Instruction on firearm safety must be credited toward the annual school safety training required by the state-level safety team's template for district-wide school safety plans and building-level school safety plans for all students, teachers, and other school personnel who receive or provide the instruction.