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Dealing With Weapons in School
by Stephen P. CurryThe Public School Code requires every school district in Pennsylvania to expel for at least one year any student who possesses a weapon, or who brings a weapon on school property, to any school-sponsored activity or on any conveyance providing transportation to a school or school-sponsored activity. Every district must develop a written policy that extends to faculty and staff regarding possession of a weapon. The expulsion requirement is sometimes referred to as "zero tolerance" for weapons, but this is an overstatement because the Public School Code also permits superintendents to recommend modifications on a case-by-case basis. The School Code does not define the scope of a superintendent's discretion. What factors are important enough to be considered? Pennsylvania courts have provided some guidance in this area. In a recent Penn Hills School District case, the court overturned the expulsion of a student because the district's policy did not provide the superintendent with discretion to recommend an adjustment to the policy's mandatory one year expulsion. According to the court, the superintendent should have been able to modify the punishment based on a consideration of the student's exemplary record, the fact that the student did not carry the weapon onto school premises, the weapon was not brandished, the weapon was turned over by the student when requested to do so, the education and employment of the student's parents, the enrollment in college of the student's sibling, the family's church attendance and the lawabiding character of the family. It is interesting to note that family factors, including parental attitudes, activities and participation in control of risky student behavior, can influence a superintendent's discretion in deciding the level of punishment. Naturally, there are other considerations. One of the most important factors is the intention of the person who violated the weapons policy. There have been many instances where a weapon was brought onto school property inadvertently. In a 2003 case, the Supreme Court concluded that actions inadvertently violated the school's weapons policy where a teacher was discharged for violating the weapons policy because her car contained three unloaded shotguns. She had intended to remove the guns from her car before reporting to work at the school, but she was called in early to substitute for another teacher and forgot to remove the guns. Another case involved a young student who attended a weekend Boy Scout camping trip. On Monday, he was in a rush and couldn't find the jacket he normally wore to school. So, he grabbed the jacket he had worn camping, failing to realize that his scout knife was still in the pocket. Inadvertent and unintentional actions which lead to a violation of a school's weapons policy may provide ample justification for modification of the mandatory one year expulsion requirement. The intent of the person violating a school's weapons policy has been, and will likely remain, the focus of scrutiny by Pennsylvania courts. Therefore, superintendents must carefully examine the intent of the person as well as all other relevant factors when deciding whether to modify the one year expulsion requirement. If the decision is appealed, administrators must have clearly articulated on the record what factors were considered and the specific reasons which led to the decision. |
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