Most Michigan School Districts Fail Gun Storage Notice Check

LANSING, Mich. — Fewer than half of Michigan’s public school districts appear to be following a state law that requires them to tell families how to store guns safely, according to a report card released Thursday by the advocacy group End Gun Violence Michigan.

The group reviewed the websites of 593 districts. Only seven earned an A, while 347 districts, or about 58 percent, received an F because no link to the required state material could be found. Roughly 18 percent got a D, 14 percent a C and 8 percent a B, grades the group said reflect notices that were partial, outdated or hard to find rather than missing outright.

The requirement comes from a 2024 law. Starting Oct. 1, 2025, and every Oct. 1 after that, each school district, intermediate school district, charter academy and nonpublic school must send the state informational notice on firearm storage to the parent or guardian of every enrolled student, either electronically or by mail. Schools also have to post links on their own websites to the Department of Education pages that carry the notice.

The notice explains an existing state rule: anyone leaving a gun unattended has to unload it and either fit it with a lock or put it in a locked case or box whenever a child can be expected nearby. The department offers the document in English, Spanish, Arabic and several other languages.

Volunteers did the grading between June 1 and Sept. 1, so the results do not capture updates districts made ahead of this year’s Oct. 1 deadline. The group said the scores are best read as a snapshot of compliance after the first deadline in 2025.

Leaders of the group said the goal is to get schools to comply, not to shame them, and argued that posting a link and sending a notice home costs districts nothing. They also called for future compliance checks to be done by someone other than volunteers.

The law also shields schools, their boards and employees, and the state education and health departments from civil liability tied to the notice itself.

Filed under: Novi MI Education News