New York Assembly Bill A03371

New York 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 1/27/25
• Refer: 1/27/25
• Refer: 1/7/26

Caption

Directs the division of criminal justice services to develop information on the safe storage of firearms to be provided to parents of school children.

Summary

A03371 would require New York’s Division of Criminal Justice Services, in consultation with the State Education Department, to develop informational materials about the safe storage of firearms. Those materials would explain the current safe-storage laws and how parents can obtain more information, and they must be written in a clear, concise format and translated into the six most common languages in the state. The bill would also require that this information be made available on the Education Department’s website and distributed to parents at the beginning of each school year in all public, nonpublic, and charter schools. The measure is tied to existing Penal Law provisions on firearm safe storage and is intended to use the school system as a distribution channel for public safety information.

Impact

If enacted, the bill would add a new Education Law section requiring annual parent-facing firearm safe-storage notices and a new Executive Law section directing DCJS to create the content. It would not change the underlying criminal penalties or safe-storage requirements in the Penal Law, but it would expand state agency responsibilities and impose a new informational distribution duty on schools serving public, nonpublic, and charter students. The bill also creates a multilingual outreach requirement, which could affect how state agencies and schools communicate with families.

Sentiment

Based on the bill text and the absence of recorded committee debate or votes, the measure appears to be framed as a public-safety and parent-notification bill rather than a punitive firearms measure. Its tone is preventive and informational, emphasizing clarity, accessibility, and translation for families. No formal opposition or support is documented in the provided materials, so the available record does not show a contested vote or committee split.

Contention

The main potential points of contention are likely to be the use of schools to distribute firearm-related information, the scope of the mandate across public, nonpublic, and charter schools, and the administrative burden of annual distribution and translation. Supporters would likely view the bill as a child-safety and injury-prevention measure, while critics may object to involving schools in firearm policy messaging or to the state’s role in directing parents’ conduct in the home. No specific objections or sponsors’ responses are included in the provided transcript materials.