Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon has signed legislation allowing a gun safety course sponsored by the National Rifle Association to be taught to first-graders.
The bill signed Friday allows schools to teach the Eddie Eagle Gunsafe Program and to seek financial grants to do so. But it stops short of mandating the course.
The NRA says its course has been taught to more than 26 million children nationwide since it began in 1988. Virginia enacted a law in 2010 allowing gun-safety courses based on the NRA program.
The Missouri legislation requires schools to conduct an active-shooter drill led by law enforcement officers.
It also assigns the duty of issuing identification cards for concealed gun permits to sheriffs, instead of driver's license clerks.