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Weapons at School

My school has a “zero tolerance” policy regarding weapons at school. One day, this guy brought a Swiss Army knife to class. He was expelled for a year when a teacher saw the knife, even though he only used it to trim his fingernails. The guy was an “A” student and never got in trouble before. The school said it didn’t matter. He had a “weapon” at school, so he got expelled. That doesn’t seem right.

Any student who possesses a weapon on school property, at school activities, or on any public transportation to school, must be expelled for at least one year under Act 26 (a Pennsylvania law). You don’t have to use the weapon. You can be punished if you carry it or keep it in your locker. Before they can expel you, though, you have a right to a formal hearing. We’ll talk more about that in a later chapter on student discipline.

Usually you can’t bring imitation or look-alike weapons such as a plastic toy gun or knife, to school either. Your school could punish you as severely for bringing an imitation weapon to school as a real weapon.

There is an exception to the rule that students must be expelled for a year under Act 26. The superintendent of your school district can recommend another punishment besides expulsion on a case-by-case basis. In a recent case, a Pennsylvania court said that a school board went too far because its “zero tolerance” weapon policy didn’t let the superintendent make any exceptions.

A student at my cousin’s school got suspended because he told a teacher he was mad and was going to bring a gun to school the next day. He didn’t even bring a gun to school, and he still got in trouble!

A statement like that can easily be interpreted as a threat and will justify school discipline and maybe even criminal prosecution. After the 1999 shootings in Columbine, Colorado, many schools are reacting strongly to student threats, or perceived threats, to school security. Courts are generally sympathetic to their concerns. In one case, a Pennsylvania court said that a student who threatened to bring a gun to school was guilty of making “terroristic threats,” which is a serious crime in Pennsylvania.

ACLU Opinion

The ACLU argues that "zero tolerance policies" are usually too broad and too vague. Because they don't allow for any exceptions, students who haven't seriously misbehaved in the past often receive punishments that don't match their offense, like getting expelled for bringing nail clippers to school or suspended for carrying aspirin.

Case Law

In re B.R. (1999)

A student ("B.R.") standing in the hallway with his friends told a nearby teacher that he was going to damage the school communications system. A few minutes later he said he was going to bring a gun to school. B.R. was found guilty of making "terroristic threats" and put on informal probation. The Superior Court of Pennsylvania said his conviction was okay—even though B.R. did not directly threaten the teacher. The "specific nature of B.R.'s threat to bring a gun to school could have been reasonably inferred by any teacher in the public school system at that time as a threat to his or her personal safety."

What is considered to be a weapon?

Under Act 26, a weapon is “any knife, cutting instrument, cutting tool, nunchaku, firearm, shotgun, rifle and [anything else] capable of inflicting serious bodily injury.” This definition may include nail clippers, pocket knife key chains, Swiss Army knives, eyeglass screwdrivers, Cub Scout knives, scissors, box cutters and other common household items.