Arkansas district modifies zero tolerance policy on weapons
The Northwest Arkansas Times reports that that possession of a weapon on school grounds will no longer result in an automatic expulsion for students attending schools in Lincoln school district. The Lincoln Board of Education (LBOE) approved a new policy meant to give administrators more discretion in determining punishment for firearms possession at schools. The policy previous stated that students who violate the prohibition of weapons on campus would be expelled for a calendar year. The revised policy includes a statement that the mandatory expulsion rule may not apply if it is determined that bringing the weapon was inadvertent and it was “visibly stored inside a locked vehicle on school property.” According to James Gregory, the district's federal programs coordinator, the change was recommended by the Arkansas School Board Association (ASBA) based on new guidelines from the U. S. Department of Education (ED). Kristen Gould, an attorney for ASBA, noted the policy was developed this summer. One of the association's services is developing model policies for districts to consider. A note regarding the policy states the change is “designed to help avoid the mandatory expulsion for the student who legitimately brings a rifle to school by mistake. The changes don't prohibit expulsion for weapons violations, but merely makes expulsion optional.” A possible case of inadvertently bringing a gun to school could be that the student goes out hunting and forgets the gun is still in the car when he or she leaves for school, Mr. Gregory said. “Our experience has been that most of the expulsions have been from students who inadvertently bring a firearm to school,” Ms. Gould said. “Almost all of the inadvertent cases that I ever heard of involved a deer rifle and a vehicle. I think that tells us a lot about the state we live in.”
Source: Northwest Arkansas Times, 7/30/08, By Brett Bennett
[Editor’s Note: The federal Gun-Free Schools Act (GFSA) is part of the Safe and Drug-free Schools and Communities Act, which in turn was reauthorized as part of the No Child Left Behind Act. ED’s guidance on GFSA is below. See also an April 2008 report on a controversy over whether the School District of Philadelphia is being aggressive enough about expelling students pursuant to the act. COSA member Sherry Swirsky, the district’s General Counsel, tells Legal Clips that a task force of stakeholders currently is preparing a report that, among other things, will lay out new procedures and standards for placing students in alternative disciplinary schools and will address the GFSA. The report is expected in a few weeks.]
ED guidance on GFSA
NSBA School Law pages on Philadelphia zero tolerance controversy