What's happening
This bill prohibits schools from authorizing anyone other than law enforcement, security guards, or school resource officers to carry weapons on school grounds.
Why it matters
Limits school discretion. By removing schools' ability to authorize staff or other non-security personnel to carry weapons, the bill centralizes decisions about armed presence on campus to law enforcement, resource officers, and licensed security guards, reducing variability between districts.
Aims to enhance student safety through professionalization. It assumes that only trained, certified professionals—rather than teachers or administrators—should be armed on school grounds, reflecting concerns about the risks of arming non-security staff.
Impacts school safety policy debates. This bill takes a clear stance amid ongoing debates about whether arming school staff can help prevent or worsen school shootings, and makes New York law more restrictive than some other states that allow armed teachers.
Legal consequences for violations. Anyone possessing a firearm on school property without proper authorization would face a class E felony, signaling strong legal deterrence and potentially affecting hiring practices and school security protocols.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Ban Guns for School Staff
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
2 Co-sponsors
1 Multi-sponsor
History
- Enacting clause stricken
- Referred to codes
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Ban Guns for School Staff
In Senate Committee · Codes · Sponsor Todd Kaminsky
Full text
1 pageUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
10011
IN ASSEMBLY
March 7, 2018
Introduced by M. of A. MAYER -- read once and referred to the Committee on Codes
AN ACT to amend the penal law, in relation to limiting educational institutions ability to authorize the possession of a weapon on school grounds
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Section 265.01-a of the penal law, as added by chapter 1 of the laws of 2013, is amended to read as follows: § 265.01-a[.] Criminal possession of a weapon on school grounds.
A person is guilty of criminal possession of a weapon on school grounds when he or she knowingly has in his or her possession a rifle, shotgun, or firearm in or upon a building or grounds, used for educational purposes, of any school, college, or university, except the forestry lands, wherever located, owned and maintained by the State University of New York college of environmental science and forestry, or upon a school bus as defined in section one hundred forty-two of the vehicle and traffic law, without the written authorization of such educational institution. No educational institution shall issue such written authorization to any teacher, professor, administrator, or other person who is not primarily employed as a school resource officer, law enforcement officer, or security guard as defined in subdivision six of section eighty-nine-f of the general business law, regardless of the person's employment directly by the educational institution or by a third party that provides school resource officers or law enforcement or security services to the educational institution.
Criminal possession of a weapon on school grounds is a class E felony.
§ 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD14931-02-8
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.