AN ACT to require the provision of firearm safety and de‑escalation instruction to certain students in public school; to require clerks of court to conduct a statewide search of mental health records when presented with a release form signed by an applicant for a concealed handgun permit; to modify the authority of magistrates and judges to issue orders of involuntary commitment; and to APPROPRIATE FUNDS FOR A PILOT PROGRAM FOR A CO‑RESPONDER PROGRAM.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

firearm safety instruction

SECTION 1.(a)  Subsection (c) of G.S. 143B‑1209.100 is amended by adding two new subdivisions to read:

(12)    Develop, in consultation with any local or State entity the Center for Safer Schools deems necessary to consult with, firearm safety instruction for students that meets all of the following requirements:

a.         The instruction shall teach students all of the following:

1.         Safe storage and handling of firearms, including instruction on (i) loading and unloading a firearm, (ii) using the safety on a firearm, and (iii) determining if a firearm is loaded or unloaded.

2.         How to avoid injury if the student finds a firearm.

3.         To never touch a found firearm.

4.         To immediately notify an adult of the location of a found firearm.

5.         How to provide basic first aid and how to contact emergency services.

b.         The instruction shall be viewpoint neutral on political topics, such as firearm rights, firearm violence, and the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution.

c.         The instruction shall not include the use or presence of live ammunition, live fire, or live firearms.

d.         The instruction shall be age‑ and grade‑appropriate.

e.         The instruction required under this subdivision shall be provided in a classroom setting by a live instructor who is an active or retired law enforcement officer or is certified by the North Carolina Criminal Justice Education and Training Standards Commission, the United States Concealed Carry Association, or the National Rifle Association.

(13)      Develop, in consultation with any local or State entity the Center for Safer Schools deems necessary to consult with, instruction for students on de‑escalation techniques for conflict or other stressful situations. The instruction shall meet all of the following requirements:

a.         The instruction shall be viewpoint neutral on political topics.

b.         The instruction shall be age‑ and grade‑appropriate.

c.         The instruction required under this subdivision shall be provided in a classroom setting by a live instructor who is a behavioral or mental health professional who has training or experience working with adolescents and children.

SECTION 1.(b)  Article 8C of Chapter 115C of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new section to read:

§ 115C‑105.50.  Firearm safety and de‑escalation instruction.

(a)        Requirement. – Each public school unit shall require each school under its control to provide annually to its students the firearm safety and de‑escalation instruction developed under subdivisions (12) and (13) of subsection (c) of G.S. 143B‑1209.100. The instruction required under this section shall begin in kindergarten.

(b)        Opt out. – The parent or legal guardian of a student subject to instruction under this section shall be allowed to opt out of either or both the firearm safety and de‑escalation instruction on behalf of the student. A request to opt out only applies to the school year in which the request is made and the parent or legal guardian must renew the request for each school year the parent or legal guardian wants the student to opt out of either or both the firearm safety and de‑escalation instruction. The State Board of Education shall establish the process for submitting a request to opt out of the instruction required under this section.

SECTION 1.(c)  G.S. 115C‑76.25(a) is amended by adding a new subdivision to read:

(13)    The right to opt out of either or both the firearm safety and de‑escalation instruction for their child pursuant to G.S. 115C‑105.50(b).

SECTION 1.(d)  The Center for Safer Schools and the State Board of Education may use the procedure set forth in G.S. 150B‑21.1 to adopt or amend any rules necessary to implement the provisions of this act.

SECTION 1.(e)  The instruction required under G.S. 115C‑105.50, as enacted by Section 2 of this act, shall be provided beginning with the 2026‑2027 school year.

SECTION 1.(f)  There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Center for Safer Schools the sum of two hundred fifty thousand dollars ($250,000) in nonrecurring funds for the 2026‑2027 fiscal year to be used to cover any costs associated with developing the instruction in accordance with subdivisions (12) and (13) of subsection (c) of G.S. 143B‑1209.100, as enacted by Section 1 of this act.

SECTION 1.(g)  Subsection (f) of this section becomes effective July 1, 2026. The remainder of this section is effective when it becomes law.

concealed handgun permit/allow statewide search of involuntary commitment records

SECTION 2.(a)  G.S. 14‑415.14(c) reads as rewritten:

(c)      Any person or entity who is presented by the applicant or by the sheriff with an original or photocopied release form as described in G.S. 14‑415.13(a)(5) shall promptly disclose to the sheriff any records concerning the mental health or capacity of the applicant who signed the form and authorized the release of the records. A clerk of court who is presented with an original or photocopied release form as described in G.S. 14‑415.13(a)(5) shall conduct an electronic Statewide search for, and promptly disclose to the sheriff, any records concerning the mental health or capacity of the applicant who signed the form and authorized the release of the records.

SECTION 2.(b)  G.S. 122C‑54(d) reads as rewritten:

(d)      Except as otherwise provided in this section, any individual seeking confidential information contained in the court files or the court records of a proceeding made pursuant to Article 5 of this Chapter may file a written motion in the cause setting out why the information is needed. A district court judge may issue an order to disclose the confidential information sought if he finds the order is appropriate under the circumstances and if he finds that it is in the best interest of the individual admitted or committed or of the public to have the information disclosed.

Counsel for the respondent and counsel for the State in the commitment hearing may receive access to the court file without filing a motion or obtaining a court order. A judge presiding over a criminal case that initiated the Article 5 proceeding may have access to the file without filing a motion.

Judicial officials determining whether a criminal defendant may be released before trial pursuant to G.S. 15A‑533 may have access to the defendant's records of proceedings made pursuant to Article 5 of this Chapter for the purposes of determining whether a criminal defendant has been involuntarily committed within the previous three years.

An applicant for a concealed handgun permit, or a sheriff, who presents an original or photocopied release form as described in G.S. 14‑415.13(a)(5) may have access to the applicant's records of proceedings made pursuant to Article 5 of this Chapter for the purpose of determining the mental health or capacity of the applicant.

SECTION 2.(c)  No later than the effective date of subsections (a) and (b) of this section, the Administrative Office of the Courts shall develop and implement a process or system that allows for an electronic Statewide search described in G.S. 14‑415.14(c), as amended by subsection (a) of this section. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, the Administrative Office of the Courts may use any funds available for the implementation or maintenance of eCourts to cover any costs incurred from developing and implementing a process or system in accordance with this subsection.

SECTION 2.(d)  Subsections (a) and (b) of this section become effective December 1, 2026, and apply to applications on or after that date. The remainder of this section is effective when it becomes law. 

modify authority of magistrates and judges to issue order for involuntary commitment

SECTION 3.(a)  Article 18 of Chapter 7A of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new section to read:

§ 7A‑201. Involuntary commitments.

(a)        Authority. – Except as otherwise provided by law, if a magistrate or presiding judge over a civil or criminal matter has reasonable grounds to believe a party to a proceeding before the magistrate or judge meets the criteria for involuntary commitment under Part 7 of Article 5 of Chapter 122C of the General Statutes, the magistrate or judge shall be vested with the authority sua sponte to make findings of fact and issue a custody order in the same manner, upon the same grounds, and with the same effect as an order issued by a clerk or magistrate pursuant to G.S. 122C‑261. Proceedings thereafter are in accordance with Part 7 of Article 5 of Chapter 122C of the General Statutes.

(b)        Recusal. – A magistrate or judge who issues an order pursuant to subsection (a) of this section is disqualified from presiding over any other hearing pursuant to Part 7 of Article 5 of Chapter 122C of the General Statutes for a respondent who was the subject of the order issued pursuant to subsection (a) of this section.

(c)        Construction. – Except as otherwise provided in subsection (b) of this section, nothing in this section shall be construed as amending or otherwise altering the duties of a magistrate or judge set forth in Part 7 of Article 5 of the General Statutes.

SECTION 3.(b)  G.S. 122C‑261(e) reads as rewritten:

(e)      Except as provided in subdivision (5) of subsection (d) of this section, upon receipt of the custody order of the clerk or magistrate ormagistrate, a custody order issued by the court pursuant to G.S. 15A‑1003, or a custody order issued pursuant to G.S. 7A‑201, a law enforcement officer, person designated under G.S. 122C‑251(g), or other person identified in the order shall take the respondent into custody within 24 hours after the order is signed, and proceed according to G.S. 122C‑263. The custody order is valid throughout the State.

Notwithstanding the provisions of this section, in no event shall an individual known or reasonably believed to have an intellectual disability be admitted to a State psychiatric hospital, except the following:

(1)        Persons described in G.S. 122C‑266(b).

(2)        Persons admitted pursuant to G.S. 15A‑1321.

(3)        Respondents who are so extremely dangerous as to pose a serious threat to the community and to other patients committed to non‑State hospital psychiatric inpatient units, as determined by the Director of the Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities, and Substance Use Services or the Director's designee.

(4)        Respondents who are so gravely disabled by both multiple disorders and medical fragility or multiple disorders and deafness that alternative care is inappropriate, as determined by the Director of the Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities, and Substance Use Services or the Director's designee.

Individuals transported to a State facility for individuals with mental illnesses who are not admitted by the facility may be transported by appropriate law enforcement officers or designated staff of the State facility in State‑owned vehicles to an appropriate 24‑hour facility that provides psychiatric inpatient care.

No later than 24 hours after the transfer, the responsible professional at the original facility shall notify the petitioner, the clerk of court, and, if consent is granted by the respondent, the next of kin, that the transfer has been completed.

SECTION 3.(c)  This section becomes effective October 1, 2026, and applies to proceedings on or after that date.

pilot co‑responder police program

SECTION 4.(a)  There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of Public Safety for each year of the 2025‑2027 fiscal biennium the nonrecurring sum of four hundred seventy‑four thousand six hundred eighty dollars ($474,680) to allocate to each county in this State in equal amounts to use to fund pilot program co‑responder models designed to integrate mental health professionals with law enforcement responding to mental health related calls by people in distress needing assistance. The funds shall be used to hire and integrate within the law enforcement agency of each locality identified below one full‑time mental health professional to be paired with law enforcement, either on a dedicated team or as part of a specialized unit, in responding to calls and incidences identified as involving mental health crises or persons with mental health issues.

SECTION 4.(b)  This section is effective retroactive to July 1, 2025.

effective date

SECTION 5.  Except as otherwise provided, this act is effective when it becomes law.