On Tuesday, May 23, 2023, the Northville Public Schools’ (NPS) Board of Education voted in favor of a resolution to periodically distribute materials stressing the importance of secure storage of firearms. NPS became the 22nd school district in Michigan to enact a resolution demonstrating our commitment to protecting and keeping children safe.
More than 2 million students across the country now live in a school district that requires schools to educate parents about the critical importance of secure firearm storage in keeping schools and students safe – including the distribution of Be SMART educational materials.
The Be SMART program helps parents and other adults normalize conversations about gun safety and take responsible actions that can prevent child gun deaths and injuries, youth suicides, unintentional shootings and gunfire on school grounds.
"As a Northville parent, I have two sons at Northville schools, and this is a very important issue to me. Safe gun storage saves lives. There are many accidental deaths each year of children because unsecured firearms are left accessible in homes. Be SMART teaches not only how to safely store your guns but more importantly how to talk to other families about whether they have guns stored safely, how to talk to your children about guns and that's why I think this is such an important program," said Rosemary Frenza Chudnof, parent in the district and Be SMART representative.
By passing this resolution, NPS promises to continue to work with local law enforcement agencies, medical and mental health agencies and non-profit organizations to collaborate and increase efforts to inform district parents of their obligations regarding secure storage of firearms in their homes, as well as other gun violence prevention safety measures.
NPS has created a section on the district’s website to promote information about the secure storage of firearms and resources from Be SMART.