A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to provide for an elective course for high school students TO EDUCATE THEM ON THE CORRECT HISTORY OF FIREARMS, SAFE HANDLING OF FIREARMS, and COMPETENT UNDERSTANDING OF FIREARMS OPERATION AND TO USE THE UNDERLYING CHARACTERISTICS OF FIREARMS and ballistics sciences TO STIMULATE INTEREST IN SUBJECTS RELATED TO SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  Part 1 of Article 8 of Chapter 115C of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new section to read:
"§ 115C‑81.90.  Elective course in the science, mathematics, and history of firearms and ballistics sciences.
The State Board of Education shall develop or identify an academically rigorous elective course on firearms and ballistics sciences that can be offered at the high school level, in the discretion of each local board of education. The course shall include emphasis on the safe and responsible handling and operation of various firearms, an understanding of how various firearms designs function, the evolution of firearms designs, and the relevance of the engineering features involved. The course shall use aspects of interior and exterior ballistics associated with firearms to stimulate interest in subjects related to physics, thermodynamics, chemistry, mathematics, metallurgy, engineering, measurements, and other topics related to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The State Board may incorporate blended learning, including video presentations, as components of the course and may use currently existing materials in development of the course. A local board of education that offers this elective course shall not permit the use or possession of live ammunition or a fully assembled or fully functional firearm in a classroom setting; however, nothing in this section shall prohibit the lawful possession of live ammunition or a firearm by a law enforcement officer, acting in his or her official capacity, on educational property."
SECTION 2.  The State Board of Education shall establish a course of study for the elective required by Section 1 of this act no later than December 31, 2019. The State Board of Education shall establish criteria for grant proposals by educators to develop a curriculum for that elective, including a requirement that the curriculum be completed no later than August 1, 2020. Such proposals shall be accepted no later than March 31, 2020, and the grant shall be awarded no later than May 1, 2020. The State Board of Education may divide the grant funds between multiple recipients to complete separate components of the curriculum, in its discretion.
SECTION 3.  There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of Public Instruction the sum of one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) for the 2019‑2020 fiscal year to provide funding for grants to develop a curriculum for the elective course in the science, mathematics, and history of firearms established by Section 1 of this act.
SECTION 4.  Section 3 of this act is effective July 1, 2019. The remainder of this act is effective when it becomes law.