CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – The Clarksville-Montgomery County School System will begin delivering annual firearm safety instruction this spring to all students in kindergarten through 12th grade, as part of a statewide mandate taking effect in the 2025-26 school year.
The instruction is required under Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-6-1016, a law passed by the Tennessee General Assembly in 2024 that mandates age-appropriate firearm safety education for all public and charter school students.
No live firearms, no demos, no politics
Under the law, the Tennessee Department of Education, in collaboration with the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency and the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security, established grade-specific instructional outcomes.
Training must occur annually and cannot include live firearms, ammunition or live-fire demonstrations. The curriculum must also remain viewpoint-neutral on political topics such as gun rights and the Second Amendment.
While the state sets academic standards and instructional outcomes, local school districts retain autonomy over how instruction is implemented. The department allows lessons to be delivered through classroom instruction, videos, online materials or approved community partners.
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How will CMCSS implement instruction?
According to CMCSS Chief Communications Officer Anthony Johnson, the district will use state-provided videos and instructional outcomes along with a locally developed online course.
Because course offerings vary across schools – particularly at the middle and high school levels – the district plans to deliver the instruction through homeroom or advisory classes. The content will be presented to students in May.
What will students learn?
According to state-developed instructional outcomes, lessons vary by age group.
Students in kindergarten through second grade will learn to identify the difference between toy guns and real firearms, basic firearm terminology, and the four firearm safety rules: Stop, Don’t Touch, Leave the Area and Tell an Adult.
Students in grades three through five will expand firearm identification to include air guns and BB guns, while continuing to reinforce safe storage practices and the same four safety rules.
Middle and high school students will receive additional instruction on types of firearms and proper storage of firearms and ammunition in the home. Lessons emphasize that firearms should be stored unloaded and locked, with ammunition stored separately.
Johnson said the instruction will be delivered digitally with no hands-on demonstrations. Age-appropriate photos, graphics and videos approved by the state DoE will be used to help students identify firearm parts and understand safe storage practices.
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Parent communication and response
Families will receive advance communication and access to the full curriculum. “As with all digital curricula materials, CMCSS will provide families with access to the entire online curriculum to review and reinforce firearm safety at home,” Johnson said.
The law does not allow students to opt out. Johnson said the district has received few concerns. “When the law was proposed and garnering attention in the media and on social media, we observed overwhelmingly positive feedback about students learning basic firearm safety,” he said.
District’s goal: Student safety
Johnson said the district’s goal is centered on student safety. “Tragically, according to the latest reports, gun-related deaths and injuries are increasing and remain the leading cause of death of Tennessee children,” he said. “Our goal is to reinforce firearm safety with children and families in an effort to stop gun-related deaths and injuries.”
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