North Kansas
City Schools District
Secure Firearm Storage
The safety, security and well-being of our more than 21,800 students is our top priority. School safety is the responsibility of everyone. At home, we urge you to take simple, key steps to protect our community.
We are all aware of incidents of gun violence in our region and across the nation. Studies of all types of school-based gun violence across decades all point to the same significant point of intervention – addressing students’ unauthorized access to guns in the home. A recent Secret Service National Threat Assessment Center study of targeted school violence incidents from 2008 to 2017 found that 76 percent of the firearms were obtained from the home of a parent or close relative.
Unsecured guns in the home pose a risk to students beyond gun violence in schools. Every year, nearly 350 children under the age of 18 unintentionally shoot themselves or someone else. That’s roughly one unintentional shooting per day. Almost 1,200 children die by gun suicide each year. In the overwhelming majority of these incidents, the gun used was one that belonged to someone in their home.
We strongly encourage you to help protect our community by ensuring any firearms in your home are stored safely.
One study found that 87 percent of kids know where their parents' guns are kept, and 60 percent have handled them. Research shows that secure firearm storage practices are associated with up to an 85 percent reduction in the risk of self-inflicted and unintentional firearm injuries among children and teens. Storing firearms securely by locking both weapons and ammunition in separate locations, protects children at home and throughout our community.
In February 2022, the North Kansas City Schools Board of Education formally adopted a Secure Storage Notification Resolution, available online here.
The safety of our students is our top priority, and your partnership is essential. Thank you for your support in maintaining safe school environments for all of the students we serve.