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HD 4089

An Act to promote safe firearm storage education and increase the well-being of students

194th Legislature (2025-2026) Introduced by Michelle Badger and 1 co-sponsor

The bill requires the Department of Education to create multilingual model content on safe firearm storage and districts to annually distribute notices to their school communities.

Senate concurred
0
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Bill Summary · HD 4089

Summary of House Bill HD 4089

An Act to promote safe firearm storage education and increase the well-being of students

Overview

  • Purpose: To promote safe firearm storage education and enhance the well-being and safety of students in Massachusetts by requiring state education authorities to develop and disseminate model content on safe firearm storage to school districts.
  • Status: Senate concurred. Part of the 2025-2026 General Court (One Hundred Ninety-Fourth General Court).
  • Introduced: February 27, 2025 (House, Representative Decker, et al.).
  • Bill number: HD 4089 (House Docket No. 4089). The text adds a new Section 99 to Chapter 71.

What the bill would do

  • Require the Department of Education to develop model content on the safe storage of firearms for school districts to share with their school communities.
  • Mandate that the model content be created in consultation with the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security.
  • Require school districts to disseminate a notice to their school communities (families, guardians, and staff) about safe firearm storage and related resources.

Key provisions

1) Model content development
- The department, in consultation with EOPSS, shall develop model content about safe firearm storage.
- The purpose is to inform school communities and to be shared by districts.

2) Content scope
- Life-saving importance of secure gun storage in homes and vehicles to prevent unsupervised access by children and teens.
- Risks of unsecured firearms to children and teens, schools, and the wider community.
- Actions individuals in the school community can take to improve safety, including awareness of secure firearm storage requirements (as per existing law), suicide prevention resources, and other behavioral health or educational resources.

3) Accessibility and review
- The model content must be published in English and in multiple languages representative of local communities (as determined by the department).
- The department shall review the model content annually.

4) Distribution by districts
- The superintendent and the school committee in each district must collaborate to annually distribute the notice to the school community, including parents/guardians of enrolled students and staff.
- The notice must be made electronically accessible on the district’s webpage.

Affected parties

  • School districts and district leaders (superintendent, school committee).
  • School communities: students, families/guardians, and school staff.
  • The broader public may be indirectly reached through district communications.

Implementation and timeline

  • After enactment, districts would implement annual distribution of the notice and maintain online access to the information.
  • The department is tasked with ongoing development and annual review of the model content, ensuring multilingual accessibility.

Relationship to existing law

  • The model content references and aligns with safe storage requirements under existing law, specifically “secure firearm storage” pursuant to section 131L of chapter 140.

Legislative history

  • Referred to the Committee on Education on February 27, 2025.
  • Senate concurred on the same day (indicating agreement between House and Senate on the measure’s language).

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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