The Department of Education will partner with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission to create firearm safety instruction, modeled after Safety Week videos.
A new Arkansas law seeks to educate students on firearm safety. Act 229, which has been signed into law, mandates that public schools and open enrollment public charter schools offer age-appropriate firearm safety instruction.
Rep. R. Scott Richardson of Bentonville, the bill’s primary sponsor, stated that the idea originated from discussions with his neighbors.
Richardson noted that children come from diverse backgrounds, some with little to no exposure to firearms at home.
“All of our children play together and move between homes throughout the day. In that process, they may enter a neighbor’s home and come across an unsecured firearm—how would they react?” he said.
The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission (AGFC) and the state’s Department of Education will collaborate to develop the safety instruction.
Trey Reid, a spokesperson for AGFC, highlighted the agency’s expertise in firearm safety through its recreational shooting division and hunter education program.
“We’ve had hunter education in Arkansas for about 45 years now. It’s been mandatory for anyone born after 1968 to complete it in order to obtain a hunting license,” Reid said.
However, he believes the new law’s requirements will make the instruction much simpler than the 10-hour hunter education course.
“This is going to be really basic—essentially a firearm safety version of ‘Stop, drop, and roll,'” Reid explained.
Richardson stressed that the focus is solely on safety, not firearm use.
“We want to remove the unknown factor and ensure kids understand that a firearm should not be handled by a child. They need to know how to respond appropriately by notifying an adult if they encounter one,” he said.
The instruction is set to begin in the 2025-26 school year.
