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The school district passed a ban after Oregon Senate Bill 554 was passed by lawmakers in 2021, giving every public school district the option to ban guns from their premises.

The Bend-La Pine school district was among the few school districts that chose to close the exception allowing holders of a concealed handgun license to carry weapons onto public property where possessing a gun would otherwise be a felony, according to Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB). Only 13 percent of the state’s public schools had chosen to ban guns from their premises by June 2022, said OPB....

Under the policies adopted by the districts, anyone violating the ban could face trespassing citations, removal from campus and referral to law enforcement, OPB reported. Holders of a concealed handgun license who violate school gun bans face a class A misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail and a $6,250 fine.

State law does still allow possession of firearms that are stored unloaded and locked inside vehicles on school property.