This bill amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to establish a framework for firearm safety education, aiming to reduce firearm-related unintentional injuries and suicides among children and teenagers. It mandates a two-tiered approach, involving both federal guidance development and local educational agency implementation, to promote secure firearm storage practices and suicide prevention. The legislation requires the Secretary of Education to develop comprehensive best practices for secure firearm storage and the prevention of firearm-related suicide or unintentional injury within one year. These best practices, developed in consultation with various federal agencies, law enforcement, and non-profit organizations, must include information on secure storage methods, risk assessment, prevention strategies, and how students should react to unsecured firearms. The federal guidelines are explicitly required to remain neutral regarding firearm possession or ownership and must be distributed annually to all local educational agencies. Following the federal distribution, covered local educational agencies (LEAs) that receive specific federal funding must develop their own local firearm safety guidance. This local guidance must incorporate the federal best practices, adapt them to community needs, and include local mental health resources. LEAs are then required to distribute this guidance annually to students, parents, school staff, and community members through both email and physical means, with the first distribution due by the 2027-2028 academic year.
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Timeline
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce.
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce.
Education
Secure Firearm Storage and Suicide Prevention Act of 2026
USA119th CongressHR-7591| House
| Updated: 2/17/2026
This bill amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to establish a framework for firearm safety education, aiming to reduce firearm-related unintentional injuries and suicides among children and teenagers. It mandates a two-tiered approach, involving both federal guidance development and local educational agency implementation, to promote secure firearm storage practices and suicide prevention. The legislation requires the Secretary of Education to develop comprehensive best practices for secure firearm storage and the prevention of firearm-related suicide or unintentional injury within one year. These best practices, developed in consultation with various federal agencies, law enforcement, and non-profit organizations, must include information on secure storage methods, risk assessment, prevention strategies, and how students should react to unsecured firearms. The federal guidelines are explicitly required to remain neutral regarding firearm possession or ownership and must be distributed annually to all local educational agencies. Following the federal distribution, covered local educational agencies (LEAs) that receive specific federal funding must develop their own local firearm safety guidance. This local guidance must incorporate the federal best practices, adapt them to community needs, and include local mental health resources. LEAs are then required to distribute this guidance annually to students, parents, school staff, and community members through both email and physical means, with the first distribution due by the 2027-2028 academic year.