Trustee: Royal Oak to expand secure-storage outreach after Michigan's 'Safe Home, Safe Schools' requirement
Summary
Trustee Jasinski told the board the district will expand secure-storage outreach and make free gun locks available at building offices to comply with Michigan's secure-storage law and the state's Safe Home, Safe Schools public act; the board also discussed volunteer outreach and planned registration notices next year.
Trustee Jasinski used her board comment time on Sept. 11 to provide a consolidated update on gun-safety outreach and state law compliance, saying the board would focus on communicating Michigan’s secure-storage requirements and local resources after recent school shootings elsewhere.
What the trustee said: Trustee Jasinski summarized recent research on child access to firearms, child suicides involving household guns, and the effect of secure-storage laws on reducing unintentional shootings and suicides. “States with secure storage or child access prevention laws had the lowest rates of injury or death from unintentional shootings,” she said, noting Michigan became the 14th state with such a law in 2023. Jasinski described a January public act, referred to in discussion as “Safe Home Safe Schools,” that requires school districts in Michigan to distribute secure-storage resources and information to families beginning Oct. 1.
District steps: Jasinski said the district already distributes secure-storage information through the district dispatch, website, social media and principal newsletters, and that volunteers from Be SMART have staffed tables at school events. She said free handgun gun locks are available to families at each building’s front office without questions, and that the district will include an acknowledgment of the state secure-storage law in school registration materials beginning next fall.
Why it matters: Board members framed this as an outreach and prevention measure tied to suicide prevention and unintentional-injury reduction. Jasinski and other trustees emphasized that communication and free distribution of locks are immediate steps the district can take; longer-term prevention involves state policy and community engagement.
Follow-up: Trustees said they would continue outreach through principals and district communications and noted partners in the community (volunteer groups and the city) are helping with education and distribution of resources.
