AN ACT to provide that certain employees and volunteers at NONPUBLIC schools may carry certain weapons on educational property when authorized by the school board of trustees or school administrative director and to provide that a person may carry a concealed handgun on educational property that is the location of both a school and a place of religious worship when attending worship services and other sacerdotal functions at the place of religious worship.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.  G.S. 14‑269.2(a) is amended by adding the following new subdivisions to read:

(1d)    School administrative director. – Any individual authorized by the school board of trustees to act on behalf of the nonpublic school.

(1e)      School board of trustees. – The governing body of any nonpublic school. For purposes of parochial schools, the school board of trustees may be the board of deacons, the board of elders, or any other designated board which oversees the general affairs of the church, synagogue, temple, or other place of religious worship that is affiliated with the nonpublic school.

SECTION 2.  G.S. 14‑269.2(g) is amended by adding the following new subdivision to read:

(8)      The person is an employee or volunteer of a nonpublic school who meets all of the following criteria:

a.         The person has written authorization from the school board of trustees or the school administrative director to possess and carry a firearm or stun gun on the educational property that is owned, used, or operated by the nonpublic school.

b.         The weapon is a firearm or a stun gun.

c.         The person has a concealed handgun permit issued in accordance with Article 54B of this Chapter or is considered valid under G.S. 14‑415.24.

d.         The person has successfully completed under the direct supervision of a certified National Rifle Association instructor or the equivalent a minimum of eight hours of courses on, or relating to, gun safety and the appropriate use of firearms that is in addition to the firearms training and safety course required for a concealed handgun permit under G.S. 14‑415.12(a)(4). This is an annual training requirement.

e.         The nonpublic school adopts and maintains written standard operating procedures regarding the possession and carrying of the weapons listed in this subdivision on the educational property and distributes to the parents of students attending the nonpublic school copies of the written standard operating procedures on an annual basis.

f.          The person is on the premises of the educational property that is owned, used, or operated by the nonpublic school at which the person is an employee or volunteer.

SECTION 3.  G.S. 14‑269.2(k1) reads as rewritten:

(k1)    For the purposes of this subsection, property owned by a local board of education or county commission shall not be construed as a building that is a place of religious worship as defined in G.S. 14‑54.1. The provisions of this section shall not apply to a person who has a concealed handgun permit that is valid under Article 54B of this Chapter, or who is exempt from obtaining a permit pursuant to that Article, if all of the following conditions apply:

(1)        The person possesses and carries a handgun on educational property other than an institution of higher education as defined by G.S. 116‑143.1 or a nonpublic, postsecondary educational institution.

(2)        The educational property is the location of both a school and a building that is a place of religious worship as defined in G.S. 14‑54.1.

(3)        The weapon is a handgun.

(4)        The handgun is only possessed and carried on educational property outside in one of the following circumstances:

a.         Outside of the school operating hours.

b.         At any time, in a building that is a place of religious worship while the person is attending worship services, funeral services, wedding ceremonies, Christenings, religious fellowships, and any other sacerdotal functions in the building. For purposes of this subdivision, the term attending includes ingress and egress between the building and the designated parking area for the place of religious worship.

(5)        The person or persons in legal possession or control of the premises have not posted a conspicuous notice prohibiting the carrying of a concealed handgun on the premises in accordance with G.S. 14‑415.11(c).

SECTION 4.  This act becomes effective December 1, 2025, and applies to offenses committed on or after that date.