Section 49-6-1016 - Noncompulsory gun safety class or program for elementary school students(a) The departments of education and safety, in consultation with the Tennessee fish and wildlife commission, shall determine the earliest grade in which it is appropriate for students to begin receiving instruction on firearm safety. In determining the earliest appropriate grade for instruction on firearm safety, the departments shall 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.(b) Beginning with the 2025-2026 school year, each LEA and public charter school shall 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 under subsection (a), and must continue in each subsequent grade through grade twelve (12).(c) The instruction required under subsection (b) must: (1) Teach students:(A) Safe storage of firearms;(B) School safety relating to firearms;(C) How to avoid injury if the student finds a firearm;(D) To never touch a found firearm; and(E) 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.(d)(1) The departments of education and safety, in consultation with the Tennessee fish and wildlife commission, shall 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 required under subsection (b). The departments shall not approve 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.(2) The instruction required under subsection (b) may be provided in a classroom setting, through the viewing of a video, or through the neview of online resources or materials, as determined by the department of education.(3) Each LEA and public charter school shall determine how best to incorporate the instruction required under subsection (b) into the school year.Amended by 2024 Tenn. Acts, ch. 800,s 1, eff. 4/23/2024.Acts 2005, ch. 202, § 1; 2009 , ch. 153, § 1; 2011 , ch. 251, § 1; 2012 , ch. 992, § 2.