Requires instruction in anti-gun violence in all schools

BILL NUMBER:S3053

Title of bill

An act to amend the education law, in relation to requiring instruction in anti-gun violence in all schools

Purpose or general idea of bill

Requires all schools to include age appropriate instruction on anti-gun violence as part of the education curriculum provided in regular classrooms.

Summary of specific provisions

Section 1: Adds a new Education Law section 805 to provide that all schools should include age appropriate instruction on anti-gun violence as an integral part of the education provided to such students.

In addition, the commissioner shall provide necessary rules and regulations on the instruction on anti-gun violence regarding the health and welfare of pupils and the community. The contents will not be uniform throughout the state; they will vary to meet the needs of particular school districts. The school districts will either utilize the commissioner's curriculum on anti-gun violence or establish a course approved by the commissioner.

School authorities shall provide needed facilities, time, place, learning aids and curriculum resource materials which contribute to the effective teaching methods and learning in anti-gun violence.

Justification

Nationwide use of firearms is the second leading cause of traumatic death related to a consumer product in the United States and are the second most frequent cause of death overall for Americans ages 15 to 24. Eight young people are killed by gun violence on an average day in the United States and in the New York City Metropolitan area, since the New York City police Department's 1-866-GUN-STOP program inception in 2001; it has made nearly 5,000 arrests and recovered over 2,700 guns.

Gun violence plagues many communities throughout the Empire State with fatal shootings often grabbing local headlines and garnering national attention. For example, in a story headlined "Neighborhood rallies for peace a.s murders in Morris Heights area up 78 percent this year, crime up, too" that ran-in the New York Daily News on October 11, 2011, it was reported that in the 46th precinct of the Borough of the Bronx alone, the murder rate went up nearly 78 percent in the prior year with 16 victims as of October 9, 2011 compared to the nine in the same period in 2010. Overall crime in the precinct was up just 5 percent.

This legislation would address this pressing issue by requiring all schools to include age appropriate anti-gun violence instruction as part of classroom curriculum where students will gain a better understanding of the impact of gun violence on their community and implement strategies in reducing the issue.

Prior legislative history

2012 - S. 7129 (Klein) / A. 9238 (Gibson)

Fiscal implications

None.

Effective date

This act shall take effect on the first of July after enactment.