September 15, 2023 3:15 a.m. 

This week Congresswoman Val Hoyle and California Representative Mike Thompson led a bipartisan letter to Secretary Cardona urging the U.S. Department of Education to reconsider its interpretation of a provision in the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act which has resulted in the potential halting of federal funding for archery and hunter safety programs in schools, directly impacting rural communities.

Hoyle said, “The Department of Education has determined that federal funds can’t be used for archery or hunter safety courses. These programs get students into the outdoors learning important skills like hunter safety and physical agility, along with an appreciation for conservation and learning to safely use firearms”. Hoyle said, “Their interpretation does not reflect the original intent of the gun safety laws and we are respectfully asking them to reconsider their decision”.

The joint release said for decades, schools across the country have provided archery and hunter education classes with funding authorized by the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. The original intent of the BSCA provision was to restrict federal ESEA funding for armed school resources officers and the arming of teachers, not to prohibit ESEA funding for archery and hunter safety classes for students. The letter strongly supports gun violence prevention efforts and points to the BSCA as a crucial tool for making schools and communities safer. However, the prohibition of federal funding for archery and hunter safety education programs has a negative impact on rural communities who rely on these programs.

The letter was co-signed by fifteen other members of Congress. The full text of the letter is linked: https://hoyle.house.gov/sites/evo-subsites/hoyle.house.gov/files/evo-media-document/bipartisan-letter-supporting-federal-funding-for-archery-and-hunter-safety-programs.pdf