Fair Notice to Caregivers - Elementary Schools

Fair Notice for Caregivers – Elementary Schools

Starting October 1, 2026, new laws and regulations under the Firearm Violence Prevention Act (FVPA) came into effect in B.C. The FVPA further strengthens existing school and district policies banning firearms on school property by providing law enforcement with additional tools to address and enforce firearms-related public safety risks. The FVPA does this by establishing a clear and consistent province-wide prohibition on firearms, low velocity firearms (such as BB, pellet, gel, airsoft and paintball guns) and imitation firearms (such as lighters designed to closely resemble firearms) on all K-12 school properties. Some schools regularly support and authorize a wide range of educational, community and special events on school property, including activities that occur outside regular school hours, on evenings, and on weekends. The legislation includes exemptions for certain safe and legitimate activities, including cadet programs. In addition, individuals who are safely transporting firearms, low-velocity firearms or imitation firearms in a vehicle are exempted as long as applicable requirements in the regulations and all other relevant firearms laws are followed (e.g., firearms remain unloaded and safely stored in a locked trunk or container). For information on existing policies in the district that ban firearms, please refer to 301-5-Code-of-Conduct-Policy.pdf & 301-5AP-Code-of-Conduct-Administrative-Procedure.pdf, which states people are “8. Not be in possession of any object that, in the opinion of the Principal/ Vice Principal, is potentially dangerous. This includes any weapons, legal or illegal, including replicas/imitations.”

For more information on the Firearm Violence Prevention Act and regulations, visit: Firearm Violence Prevention Act (FVPA) - Province of British Columbia