What's happening
This bill prohibits public schools in New York from offering marksmanship or shooting programs, but allows archery programs to continue.
Why it matters
The bill removes existing language about firearm safety instruction in schools, shifting focus exclusively to game law, hunting, and conservation education—explicitly without student use or discharge of firearms.
It broadly defines prohibited marksmanship and shooting programs as any school activity involving accuracy, precision, or speed with firearms or air guns, including both competitive and recreational formats.
By allowing archery programs to continue, the bill distinguishes between shooting sports involving firearms/air guns and those involving bows, potentially impacting extracurricular offerings and student organizations differently.
If enacted, the law could affect student access to traditional shooting sports and related educational opportunities, possibly reducing exposure to firearms in educational settings and altering how schools approach outdoor and wildlife-related curricula.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Ban School Shooting Programs
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
1 Co-sponsor
History
- Referred to education
- Referred to education
Full text
1 pageUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
1007
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 14, 2019
Introduced by M. of A. L. ROSENTHAL -- read once and referred to the Committee on Education
AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to the prohibition of marksmanship and/or shooting programs in public schools
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Section 809-a of the education law, as amended by chapter 442 of the laws of 1977, is amended to read as follows:
§ 809-a. Instruction in [the safe use of firearms] conservation and in the game laws. The officer, board, or commission authorized or required to prescribe courses of instructions in any school under state control, may authorize instructions to be given in the [safe and proper use of firearms allowed by law to be used in the taking of wild game, and may also authorize instructions to be given in the] study of game laws and of proper hunting and conservation practices, provided that firearms are not used by students or discharged on school grounds. Such courses of instruction shall be approved by both the education department and the department of environmental conservation.
§ 2. The education law is amended by adding a new section 809-b to read as follows:
§ 809-b. Prohibition of marksmanship and/or shooting programs. 1. No public school shall offer marksmanship and/or shooting programs.
2. For purposes of this section, marksmanship and/or shooting programs shall include any competitive and recreational sporting activities involving proficiency tests of accuracy, precision and speed in using various types of ranged weapons, such as firearms and air guns, in forms such as handguns, rifles and shotguns.
3. The provisions of this section shall not apply to competitive and recreational archery programs.
§ 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD06051-01-9
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.