by Brian McCombie - Tuesday, May 27, 2025
In the Michigan Legislature, the House Natural Resources and Tourism Committee recently voted to pass NRA-backed House Bill 4285 onto the larger House for consideration and a potential vote. As shared by the NRA Institute for Legislative Action (NRA-ILA), which testified in support of the bill in committee, “HB 4285 directs the state to develop and distribute a firearm safety curriculum to Michigan schools, available to students in grades 6–12.”
If passed, HB 4285 will create a voluntary firearm safety and hunter education program that NRA-ILA says would “teach responsible firearm handling, cleaning and maintenance, and safe hunting practices. Students who complete the program would earn their Hunter Safety Certification, empowering them with the knowledge and responsibility that comes with firearm ownership and outdoor stewardship.”
HB 4285 would require the Michigan Department of Education to consult with the state’s Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to create a model program of firearm safety instruction. It mandates that instruction must not be less than eight hours in duration, must comply with the requirements of the safe firearm handling course provided by the DNR and must be taught by a DNR-certified Michigan hunter education instructor.
The bill also notes that firearm safety instruction must include, but is not limited to, the following topics:
(a) proper usage and handling of firearms;
(b) safe cleaning and maintenance of firearms;
(c) an overview of different types of firearms; and
(d) safe hunting practices.
State schools will have the option to offer the program within existing courses or to make it available to students as an extracurricular activity.
The bill mandates that firearms and ammunition cannot be brought into school buildings for instruction. Upon the request from the student or the student’s parent or legal guardian, the student may be excused without penalty or loss of academic credit from attending the firearm safety instruction.
In 2024, Michigan State Sen. Jon Bumstead (R-32nd Dist.) introduced Senate Bill 664, identical to HB 4285. In December of that year, it was passed unanimously by the Senate Committee on Natural Resources and Agriculture and moved on to the State Senate for consideration.
“My office worked very closely with many invested parties, including the Michigan Department of Education and Department of Natural Resources, to find language for this bill that could build up broad bipartisan support,” said Sen. Bumstead at the time.
He added, “This optional course would offer kids a wonderful opportunity to learn the important lessons of firearm safety, the tradition of hunting and Michigan’s great outdoors. On a personal level, I hope these classes could be especially valuable to students who might not grow up in families with hunting traditions.”
Currently, the Michigan DNR requires all first-time hunters born on or after Jan. 1, 1960, to take and pass a hunter safety course before they can purchase a hunting license. It offers four options for earning the Hunter Safety Certificate needed to purchase a hunting license. These include the traditional classroom-based course plus an in-person field day, two online course options each with a field day, and a take-home study course followed by the in-person field day.
Of note, the Michigan DNR has not yet approved the NRA's 100 percent-free online NRA Hunter Education course as a hunter education option. Currently available in 14 states, the course is geared toward helping new hunters of all ages learn to be safe and responsible hunters and fittingly is offered by the organization that built the nation’s first-ever hunter education program in 1949.