Biden signs bill to protect school archery programs. Some worried he wouldn’t.
Missouri attorney general Andrew Bailey feared that the Biden administration's interpretation of a bill passed in the wake of last year's deadly Uvalde, Texas school shooting could lead to the end of hunter education, shooting and archery programs in public schools.
Dozens of other state leaders across the country - Republican and Democrat − had similar concerns.
On Friday, President Joe Biden signed bipartisan legislation to protect federal funding for K-12 schools with those pursuits.
The new Protecting Hunting Heritage and Education Act is a response to interpretation of the 2022 Bipartisan Safer Communities Act that many politicians, outdoors enthusiasts and stakeholders believed could strip public schools of federal funding if they included hunter education and archery programs in their curriculum.
The Safer Communities Language Act−gun-safety legislation that put aside $1 billion for schools nationwide to expand their mental health services − had language that prohibited federal funding to schools to schools that provided anybody a weapon or training to use a dangerous weapon. That bill was signed by then-Missouri Republican Sen. Roy Blunt.
No federal funding was ever diverted because of that language, according to the U.S. Education Department.
Bailey was among 24 U.S. attorneys general that helped push the Protecting Hunting Heritage and Education Act to Biden's desk.
In a statement sent to the News-Leader on Monday, Bailey said he is glad that Biden is reversing course and will no longer strip schools of firearm and archery safety courses.
"I’m proud to have joined forces with more than 20 states to protect this funding," Bailey said. "I’m never going to let coastal elites who are ignorant of how Missourians really live rid our schools of these safety programs. I’ll always protect our way of life.”
The Safer Communities Act language that appeared to be most concerning for proponents of the Protecting Hunting Heritage and Education:
"No funds under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act may be used for the provision to any person of a dangerous weapon, as defined in section 930(g)(2) of title 18, United States Code, or training in the use of a dangerous weapon. (Dangerous weapon is defined in section 930(g)(2) as a weapon, device, instrument, material, or substance, animate or inanimate, that is used for, or is readily capable of, causing death or serious bodily injury, except that such term does not include a pocket knife with a blade of less than 2 1/2 inches in length.)."
Montana Democrat Sen. John Tester signed the Safer Communities Act, but he has also been the most vocal in saying that the bill was never intended to stop funding for the hunter safety, archery and shooting programs.
"Outdoor recreation is fundamental to our Western way of life and any reduction of federal support for these educational programs is unacceptable," Tester said in an August letter.
The National Archery in Schools Program, which has more than a million participants in grades K-12, is happy both sides of the political aisle worked together on the issue.
"The situation illustrated what may be best about America; people from different perspectives - all coming together to remove barriers for students," the NASP said in a statement posted to its Facebook page. "We believe that this situation demonstrated just how deeply Americans care about the future of conservation and the preservation of the shooting sports for young people."
A branch of the NASP, the Missouri National Archery in Schools Program has grown exponentially since its 2007 inception, notably in southwest Missouri. Crane was the first school district to join the MoNASP program and earlier this month Greenwood Lab in Springfield became its 1,000th member.
Springfield Public Schools, the largest school district in Missouri, also has schools that participate in MoNASP. It also offers a hunter safety and various outdoors education courses, including a firearm safety course through the Missouri Department of Conservation.
"SPS is pleased by the ongoing support for these programs, which remain incredibly popular among SPS students," SPS spokesman Stephen Hall said Monday.
USA Today contributed to this report
This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Biden signs bill to protect school archery programs
