New Law Allows North Carolina Private Schools to Authorize Personnel to Carry Certain Weapons on Campus

On December 1, 2025, a new law took effect in North Carolina permitting private schools to authorize their employees and volunteers to carry certain weapons on their campuses. Session Law 2025-81 created a carveout in N.C. Gen. Stat. § 14-269.2 to allow an employee or volunteer of a private school to carry a weapon on educational property as long as all of the following criteria are met:

1. The person has written authorization from the private school’s board of trustees or administrative director;
2. The weapon is a firearm or stun gun;
3. The person has a valid concealed handgun permit;
4. The person has successfully completed (on an annual basis) at least eight hours of courses on gun safety and the appropriate use of firearms in addition to the firearms training and safety course required for a concealed handgun permit;
5. The private school adopts and maintains written standard operating procedures regarding the possession and carrying of the weapons and annually distributes the procedures to the parents of students attending the private school; and
6. The person is on the educational property of the private school where the person serves as an employee or volunteer.

Private schools may choose whether to allow any of their employees or volunteers to carry firearms or stun guns on their property. If a private school decides to allow the carrying of these weapons, it must have appropriate written standard operating procedures. When developing these procedures, consideration should be given but not limited to:

• Whether authorizing an employee or volunteer to carry a firearm or stun gun will be the responsibility of the board of trustees or the administrative director;
• Whether to restrict the eligibility to carry a firearm or stun gun to personnel holding certain positions and the ordinary carrying to certain locations on the property;
• The requirements for an employee or volunteer to establish and maintain eligibility and procedures for seeking authorization;
• The maintenance of a list of employees and volunteers who have been authorized to carry firearms and stun guns and whether such list will be publicly available;
• The identification of allowable firearms and stun guns;
• The requirements for the inspection and safe handling and storage of firearms and stun guns;
• The liability for and discipline of an employee or volunteer for violation of the procedures; and
• The contents of an agreement that an employee or volunteer authorized to carry must sign, including whether to include assumption of risk and indemnity clauses therein.

Because the carrying of firearms and stun guns by employees and volunteers may expose the private school to additional liability, the decision on whether to allow the carrying of these weapons should be given careful consideration. The private school should also confirm with its insurance carrier whether its liability policy covers acts involving firearms and stun guns carried by its employees and volunteers.

If you have questions about this new law, please contact Todd Bowyer at (919) 783-1063 or tbowyer@poynerspruill.com.