LINCOLN PUBLIC SCHOOLS : Policy creates leeway for gun punishments
Posted on Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Taking a gun to school in Lincoln may not necessarily lead to expulsion.
The Lincoln Board of Education on Monday approved a new policy meant to give administrators more discretion in determining punishment for firearms possession at schools.
The policy had been that students who violate the prohibition of weapons on campus would be expelled for a calendar year. The new rule 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. ”
James Gregory, the district’s federal programs coordinator, said the change was recommended by the Arkansas School Board Association based on new guidelines from the U. S. Department of Education.
Kristen Gould, an attorney for the association, said 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, Gregory said.
“ Our experience has been that most of the expulsions have been from students who inadvertently bring a firearm to school, ” 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. ”
Board member Richard Watson was reluctant initially to make the change. He agreed to go along with it after some convincing that it would not prohibit the district from issuing an expulsion under certain circumstances.
He later asked that one phrase in the new policy be changed from “ does not ” to “ may not” because he thought it would give the district more authority to enact an expulsion. The other board members present Monday agreed to the change.
Even if bringing the gun to school is truly inadvertent, it is still an egregious mistake, Watson said.
“ It’s still serious, and it will be looked at seriously, ” he said.
“ We definitely think there should be a disciplinary response (for inadvertent cases ), ” Gould said. “ The disciplinary response is left up to the school district. ”
Gould said the vast major ity of inadver tent cases she knows of involve a gun that was inside a vehicle in a school parking lot and not being carried by the person.
“ One case that I can recall, it was a family that had several vehicles, ” she said. “ It was actually the father’s gun. He had left it in the car. ”
Watson noted the school board ultimately hears appeals on expulsions if students appeal the punishment. He said he would be hesitant to make an adjustment for a firearms violation without strong evidence that bringing the gun onto school grounds was accidental.
“ I just think in today’s time, my tolerance is going to be really low in that circumstance, ” he said. “ They’re going to have to really prove (their case ). ”
After approving the policy change, the board took up approving school handbooks for the 2008-09 school year. In addition to the secondary and middle school handbook, the board approved a new handbook for the district’s alternative learning program.
Superintendent Frank Holman said the alternative learning program is technically its own school, separate from the high school and other buildings.
Lincoln had been a participant in the Boston Mountain Education Center, an alternative program for area schools that is administered in Fayetteville by the Boston Mountain Education Cooperative.
Holman decided to stop participating in the program this year, citing in part the long bus ride for participants from Lincoln.
Also Monday, alternative learning program Director Clay Hendrix told the board that the district has been awarded a grant to start a Jobs for American Graduates program.
“ The details are still a little bit sketchy, ” he said. “ It’s a class students take that teaches them how to be good employees. ”
Holman added he was reviewing the possibility of establishing a conversion charter school program at Lincoln High School. The main advantage to students would be greater flexibility in being able to take certain classes, he said.
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