---
title: SB 401. Education; local boards of education shall be required to provide instruction in firearm safety in kindergarten through grade 12; provide
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/sb401
cite_as: SB 401, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb401
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb401.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb401/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/72249
date: 2026-01-16
status: introduced
corpus_version: bills-2026-09-13
license: Public record of the Georgia General Assembly, via LegiScan; see about.md
publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice.
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omitted: votes and history
omitted_chars: 95
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb401.md?full=1
bill_number: SB 401
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: Senate
bill_type: bill
status_date: 2026-01-15
last_action: Senate Read and Referred
sponsors:
- Ricky Williams
- Billy Hickman
- Max Burns
- John Albers
- Mike Hodges
- Carden Summers
- Chuck Payne
- Lee Anderson
text_version: Introduced
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/SB401/2025
upstream_id: 2083388
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
- gun safety education
- school curriculum
- K-12 schools
- firearm safety
- Georgia public schools
---
# SB 401. Education; local boards of education shall be required to provide instruction in firearm safety in kindergarten through grade 12; provide
## Text
Senate Bill 401
By: Senators Williams of the 25th, Hickman of the 4th, Burns of the 23rd, Albers of the 56th,
Hodges of the 3rd and others
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Part 14 of Article 6 of Chapter 2 of Title 20 of the Official Code of Georgia
Annotated, relating to other educational programs under the "Quality Basic Education Act,"
so as to provide that local boards of education shall be required to provide instruction in
firearm safety in kindergarten through grade 12; to provide that such instruction may be
incorporated into a course of study in health and physical education; to provide for the
adoption of content standards by the State Board of Education; to provide that local boards
of education may establish a curriculum in firearm safety; to provide requirements for such
curriculum; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION 1.
Part 14 of Article 6 of Chapter 2 of Title 20 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated,
relating to other educational programs under the "Quality Basic Education Act," is amended
by revising Code Section 20-2-308, which is reserved, as follows:
"20-2-308.
(a) Beginning in the 2028-2029 school year, each local board of education shall provide
age-appropriate and grade-appropriate instruction on firearm safety in kindergarten through
grade 12, which instruction may be incorporated into the course of study in health and
physical education provided for in Code Section 20-2-142.
(b) No later than January 1, 2028, the State Board of Education shall adopt content
standards for such instruction in firearm safety.
(c) Each local board of education shall be authorized to establish a curriculum for
instruction in firearm safety, which curriculum may be based on the firearm education
courses offered by the Department of Natural Resources and shall incorporate the
following topics:
(1) Safe storage of a firearm;
(2) School safety relating to firearms; and
(3) How to avoid injury if the student finds a firearm, including, but not limited to, never
touching a found firearm and immediately notifying an adult of the location of a found
firearm.
(d) Instruction in firearm safety offered pursuant to this Code section shall not include the
use or presence of live ammunition, live fire, or live firearms.
(e) Instruction in firearm safety offered pursuant to this Code section shall be viewpoint
neutral and shall not espouse personal political beliefs relating to firearms. Reserved."
SECTION 2.
All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.
## Summaries written by Georgia Commons
The following was written by claude-sonnet-5 from the text above and is not part of the bill. Quote the text, not the summary.
A Georgia Senate bill would require every public school to teach firearm safety from kindergarten through 12th grade starting in the 2028-2029 school year, with the state setting standards for the lessons.
### Plain-language summary
Georgia law currently has no requirement that public schools teach firearm safety. This bill would fill that gap by amending the Quality Basic Education Act (O.C.G.A. § 20-2-308) to require every local board of education to provide age-appropriate firearm safety instruction in kindergarten through grade 12, beginning with the 2028-2029 school year. Schools could fold this instruction into existing health and physical education classes.
The State Board of Education would have to adopt content standards for the instruction by January 1, 2028. Local districts could design their own curriculum, possibly based on Department of Natural Resources firearm education courses, and that curriculum must cover safe storage, school safety around firearms, and what to do if a student finds a firearm. The instruction could not involve live ammunition or live firearms, and it must stay neutral on political viewpoints about guns.
### What it does
- Requires every local school board in Georgia to provide firearm safety instruction in kindergarten through grade 12, starting in the 2028-2029 school year.
- Allows schools to fold the new firearm safety lessons into existing health and physical education courses instead of creating a separate class.
- Requires the State Board of Education to adopt statewide content standards for the instruction by January 1, 2028.
- Lets local school boards design their own firearm safety curriculum, optionally based on Department of Natural Resources firearm education courses, covering safe storage, school safety, and what to do if a firearm is found.
- Bans the use of live ammunition, live fire, or live firearms in the instruction and requires the lessons to stay neutral on political views about firearms.
### Who it affects
Public school students in kindergarten through 12th grade and their teachers, local boards of education across Georgia that must design and deliver the curriculum, and the State Board of Education, which must set statewide content standards for the new instruction.
### Why it matters
Starting in the 2028-2029 school year, Georgia students would receive mandatory lessons on firearm safety, including what to do if they find a gun, as part of their regular schooling. School districts would need to plan curriculum and possibly train staff, while the state sets ground rules to keep the material factual rather than political.
### Key provisions
- Section 1 rewrites O.C.G.A. § 20-2-308, previously a reserved (unused) code section, to require firearm safety instruction in kindergarten through grade 12 beginning in the 2028-2029 school year.
- Subsection (a) allows the instruction to be incorporated into existing health and physical education courses under O.C.G.A. § 20-2-142.
- Subsection (b) requires the State Board of Education to adopt content standards for the instruction no later than January 1, 2028.
- Subsection (c) lets local boards of education build their own curriculum, which may draw on Department of Natural Resources firearm education courses, and must cover safe storage, school safety, and avoiding injury from a found firearm.
- Subsection (d) prohibits the use of live ammunition, live fire, or live firearms in the instruction.
- Subsection (e) requires the instruction to be viewpoint neutral and bars it from promoting personal political beliefs about firearms.
- Section 2 repeals any conflicting laws.
## Status
- Status: Introduced (2026-01-15)
- Last action: Senate Read and Referred (2026-01-16)
- Sponsors: Ricky Williams, Billy Hickman, Max Burns, John Albers, Mike Hodges, Carden Summers, Chuck Payne, Lee Anderson
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/72249
> The history, votes, and amendments (95 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb401.md?full=1