So, essentially, what I'm gathering is that as long as I remain the SME and certified by the NRA, I can continue to teach a curriculum that emphasizes safety and not so much the NRA Course in it's recommended form? As long as it conforms to the state's requirements?
Doesn't that short the customer? They cannot, then, claim to have taken the NRA Basic Pistol Course, but just a state required course?
I may have drank too much NRA kool-aid, so I cannot understand why someone would want to take a course that isn't sponsored by the NRA.
Well, what you say is true, but incomplete.
If you stop teaching NRA courses, your certification as an NRA instructor will lapse after a year. After that, you will no longer be eligible to teach under state law.
As far as shorting the customer, NRA did that. You, as an instructor, have your hard costs reduced by $11, the amount it
takes took to purchase a student's packet from NRA. All your other costs remain: ammo, firearm depreciation and maintenance, possibly snacks, liability insurance, etc. So whatever you charge for your classes just went down by $11.
However, the student now has to spend an additional $60, plus a genuinely appalling number of online hours, to pass Phase 1 before they can then move on to paying you and taking your Phase 2 class. From the student perspective, the cost has risen, the time required to complete the class has increased, and the scheduling has become more complicated.
I'm a fan of the NRA Kool-Aid, but they have really made a mess of this. Not to mention the fact that there is no class for Training Counselors to make new Trainers under the new system. And, of course, handgun is the ONLY class available. Rifle, Shotgun, Muzzleloader, etc. are all "pending."
Offer an NRA Home Firearm Safety class once a year: that will keep your certifications fresh with NRA. Then make up your own class, or start photocopying NRA's old materials. Either way, NRA has really done a bang-up job of distancing themselves from Hawaii's particular needs.