North Butler Community Schools and Clarksville Community Schools in Iowa are introducing classes in firearms safety for 7th and 8th graders starting this spring.
Butler County Conservation will be teaching a mandatory course in hunter safety through the physical education curriculum, the website Radio Iowa reported. High school students in grades 9-12 will also be able to receive the training, but it is not mandatory.
Joel Foster, superintendent of North Butler Community Schools and Clarksville Community Schools, told Radio Iowa that the course was designed for the safety of students and staff.
“What we do best is educate our kids,” he said. “We feel if we educate our kids in how to use weapons responsibly, how to respect them, understand it’s not a video game and those sort of things, that maybe we’ll cut down on our chances of having a severe incident.”
Foster told the news outlet that he knows not every student will become a hunter. But he wants to expose all students to firearm safety, a skill they can use for hunting or protection. – READ MORE