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HB104 Firearm Safety Training

HB 104 Firearm Safety Instruction

Starting July 1, 2025, HB 104 requires Utah public schools to provide age-appropriate firearm safety instruction. The purpose is to help students know how to stay safe around firearms—especially if they encounter them at home or elsewhere.

What the instruction looks like

  • Students in grades 1, 3, and 5 will participate in a lesson that focuses on the four steps they can take to stay safe and prevent accidents.
  • Students in middle school and high school will participate in this instruction during their Health I and Health II classes.
  • The lessons will be developmentally appropriate — meaning what younger children learn will be different from what older students learn.

What parents should know

  • Before the instruction is given, each school will notify parents or guardians and provide information about how a student can opt out, if the parent chooses. 

  • If a student is opted out, the school will provide an alternative educational activity instead of the firearm safety lesson. 

  • The purpose of the instruction is not to encourage firearm use, but to help students learn how to stay safe if they encounter a firearm. No firearms, either real or model, will be displayed in the classroom.

Why this matters

Many homes in Utah have firearms, and young people may not always receive formal guidance on how to handle or avoid firearms safely. HB 104 is aimed at reducing accidents and helping all students gain awareness and confidence around this issue. 

Questions? 

Dr. Tiffany Hall, Executive Director

Teaching and Learning

tiffany.hall @ slcschools.org

Elementary Teaching Resources

Molly’s Mischief (grades K-2)

McGruff’s nephew Scruff® is visiting his friend TJ when TJ’s little sister Molly finds a gun in their parents’ bedroom. Scruff helps Molly understand why kids should never handle a gun without adult supervision and teaches them his uncle’s 4 Steps of Gun Safety: Stop. Don’t touch. Get away. Tell an adult.

 

Not Cool, Kyle (grades 2/3-6)

McGruff’s nephew Scruff and his friend Mara are shocked when their friend Kyle shows them a gun in his backpack on their way into school. They explain to Kyle why it is dangerous to bring a gun to school and remind him that he could get in big trouble. Scruff teaches Kyle and Mara his uncle’s 4 Steps of Gun Safety: Stop. Don’t touch. Get away. Tell an adult. Then he goes with Mara to tell a teacher about Kyle’s dangerous behavior.

 

Secondary Teaching Resources

L.E.T.S. Stay Safe (grades 7-12)

This an optional firearm-safety and violence-prevention educational module developed by the Utah Attorney General’s Office in collaboration with the Utah State Board of Education designed for students in grades 5-12. It was created under Utah State Code 53A-13-106.5 to help schools provide students with actionable strategies if they encounter firearms or become aware of threats.

The name is an acronym:

  • L = Leave it alone

  • E = Educate others

  • T = Tell an adult

  • S = Share threats (to the school or other students) with authorities