Many diehard whitetail hunters dream of living in Iowa because of the state’s big bucks and over-the-counter resident deer tags. Here’s another reason to consider making the move to the Hawkeye State.

North Butler and Clarksville Community school districts in eastern Iowa have announced that a hunter safety course will be part of the physical education curriculum for seventh and eighth grade students beginning next spring.

“What we do best is educate our kids,” said Superintendent Joel Foster. “We feel if we educate our kids in how to use weapons responsibly, how to respect them, understand it’s not a video game and those sorts of things, that maybe we’ll cut down on our chances of having a severe incident.”

Parents can opt out of the program if they don’t want their kids to participate. That said, because hunting is such a strong fabric of the lives for residents living in eastern Iowa, it is expected almost all students will take the classes. An evening course will also be offered.

As explained in this video from KWWL News 7, working firearms will not be present in the classroom. In addition, Superintendent Foster says conservation officers from Butler County will teach the hunter safety courses.

Superintendent Foster wants students who aren’t interested in hunting to be prepared for situations where they might encounter a gun. He said, “For instance, if you have a 13- or 14-year-old girl who may be babysitting somewhere where the guns aren’t locked up in the house. And one of the little ones comes out with one, they’ll have an idea of how to handle one and how to put it away safely.”

We applaud Superintendent Foster and the school boards for implementing hunter safety into the curriculum for these two school districts. Hopefully other schools in Iowa — and across the United States — will do the same.