Guns in Schools in Missouri

Missouri prohibits the carrying of a firearm, whether loaded or unloaded, into any school, onto any school bus, or onto the premises of any function or activity sponsored or sanctioned by school officials or the district school board. 1

This prohibition does not apply to any person traversing school premises for the purposes of transporting a student to or from school, or possessed by an adult for the purposes of facilitation of a school-sanctioned firearm-related event or club event. 2 This prohibition also does not apply:

• When the possessor is transporting a firearm in a nonfunctioning state, unloaded with the ammunition not readily accessible, or when the firearm itself is not readily accessible;
• To any person with a valid concealed carry permit or endorsement (with permission from the school); 3
• To school administrators or teachers who have been designated as school protection officers; 4
• To persons who are engaged in a lawful act of defense; or
• To a student participating in school-sanctioned gun safety courses, or other school-sponsored firearm-related events, provided the student does not carry a firearm or other weapon readily capable of lethal use into any school, onto any school bus, or onto the premises of any other function or activity sponsored or sanctioned by school officials or the district school board. 5

In Missouri, a concealed carry endorsement does not permit the holder to carry a concealed firearm into any elementary or secondary school facility without the consent of a school official or the district school board. 6 Possession of a firearm in a vehicle on the premises of any elementary or secondary school facility is allowed as long as the firearm is not removed from the vehicle or brandished while the vehicle is on the premises. 7

Colleges and Universities

People with concealed carry permits are not permitted to carry firearms into any higher education institution facility without the consent of the governing body of the higher education institution. Possession of a firearm in a vehicle on the premises of any higher education institution or elementary or secondary school facility shall not be a criminal offense so long as the firearm is not removed from the vehicle or brandished while the vehicle is on the premises. 8

Additionally, an administrative regulation provides that, at the University of Missouri, the possession of firearms on university property is prohibited except in regularly approved programs or by university agents or employees in the line of duty. 9

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1. Mo. Rev. Stat. § 571.030.1(10). [ ↩ ]
2. Mo. Rev. Stat. § 571.030.3. [ ↩ ]
3. Mo. Rev. Stat. § 571.107.1(10). [ ↩ ]
4. Id. [ ↩ ]
5. Mo. Rev. Stat. § 571.030.1(3)-(6). [ ↩ ]
6. Mo. Rev. Stat. § 571.107.1(10). Teachers or administrators who have been designated by the district as school protection officers do not need the school’s consent to carry. [ ↩ ]
7. Id. [ ↩ ]
8. Mo. Rev. Stat. § 571.107.1(10). [ ↩ ]
9. Mo. Code Regs. Ann. tit. 6, § 250-4.010(10). [ ↩ ]

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