Ok, i live in the midwest and attend a high school in Kansas. As some of you may know, deer hunting season has begun in Kansas. There are 400 people that go to my small rural school. This morning, two students showed up to school after hunting. At around 10:30 they were called to the office and were kicked out of school for 1 YEAR. Some one had their rifles in their truck and told the principal. It turns out their trucks were both locked, the guns were put on the seat so no one could see them unless they climbed the running boards to the trucks and looked in, and the safeties were both on. They got 1 year out of school suspension for having a gun on school property, BUT the planner and disciplinary policy says that having a weapon on school property is 10 days out of school suspension, and a School Board Hearing. How can the school give these kids, who by the way are seniors who get good grades, 1 year out of school suspension when the planner says 10 days?!?! I am a sophmore at this
2007-11-30 09:29:06 · 29 answers · asked by Sally 2 in Politics & Government ➔ Law & Ethics
school and I do not believe this is right at all. Way too strict of a punishment, and the principal is going against the planner and disciplinary policy by giving this large of a suspension. This is not right at all. The guys had the safeties on and in their locked truck on the seat, with no intent to harm anyone with these guns. This is ridiculous!
2007-11-30 09:30:51 · update #1
So, my question is, should the guys and their families get lawyers and challenge this? There will be a hearing before the school board, but should they take legal action with lawyers?
2007-11-30 09:31:56 · update #2
these kids never get in trouble at all, and this is a first offense for the guy that asked it.
2007-11-30 09:38:31 · update #3
good thoughts, even if you disagree with my opinion, but to the 2 or 3 posters that saids something about the guns being loaded, they were not...
2007-11-30 11:05:37 · update #4
Tell your story to the parents at columbine! Schools have rules for a reason, if you break the rules, then you need to suffer the consequences. Sometimes the consequences are harsher for a reason, but they are needed to protect the integrity of the system!
2007-11-30 09:34:01 · answer #1 · answered by Beau 6 · 3⤊ 1⤋
It matters not if they were loaded or not. Presumably there was ammunition somewhere in the vehicle. The fact that they were on seat but still could be seen by climbing up it still "plain view". If the school has a no weapons policy that is written they have issues.There are also the federal policies..... which mandate federal charges.
The parents should get a lawyer and explain a few things to the school board. The school board did as they should but why the 10 days versus a year? Do the politicians want this mucked through court? In light of Columbine and such do they really want national attention? Some sort of deal could be worked out.
2007-12-01 05:42:24 · answer #2 · answered by jackson 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
As a long time hunter I can fully believe that what the students did was harmless and had no intent of hurting anyone. But that in no way makes what they did right. You mention the handbook and I assume everyone has access to one. Then so do these students. If they are seniors who work for good grades then I don't see why they would think even a 10 day suspension would be worth the risk. Any way you look at it they were using very poor judgment.
However I do think the punishment exceeds the crime and if I was them I would make an attempt to appeal it any way I could. Best of luck to these two and I hope a happy compromise is made.
2007-11-30 09:49:46 · answer #3 · answered by mnorth12 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
>> So, my question is, should the guys and their families get lawyers and challenge this? There will be a hearing before the school board, but should they take legal action with lawyers? <<
Absolutely yes. School boards are the most incompetently managed government bodies in the US. They routinely violate their state's laws and their own rules. They also collapse like wet toilet paper when challenged by lawyers. A 1 year suspension is a serious matter & may kill their college admission chances. Definitely have legal representation as early as possible and at all stages of the disciplinary process.
2007-11-30 09:57:15 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 0⤋
Ten days sounds like a punishment that is too light. Most state laws these days limit a PRINCIPAL to suspending a student for no more than "10 days, WITH RECOMMENDATION FOR EXPULSION." Expulsion is an action that can only be done by the superintendent. I think you need to go back and read your handbook again, because I suspect that that is what it actually says.
Bringing a weapon onto school grounds is a SERIOUS OFFENSE. They deserve to have the book thrown at them.
On the other hand, I think they deserve their "day in court" to explain and possibly have their sentence reduced. But no one can make a judgement about that from what you said. You have already formed an opinion, obviated by your by-line ("outrageous punishment.")
2007-11-30 09:43:00 · answer #5 · answered by Mister J 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I, too live in Kansas, and wonder what they were doing hunting Bambi before school in the first place. Unless they are on the basketball team there would be ample time after school to hunt. Face it. They should have thought about this before being so stupid as to take their guns to school with them. If they live in the country, they should have allowed for the time it takes to drive to school so they should have taken their guns back home.
Schools have a zero tolerance police about bringing firearms onto school property, and they knew this before hand. Schools have an obligation to keeping students safe and by parking on school property you are authorizing the school administrators to randomly search your vehicle, to include standing on running bords to look inside to see if there is any contriband.
Whether the punishment was too severe would be up to the school board at an administrative hearing, and although YOU think one year is too long, what about the students who were killed at Columbine. They are dead permanently.
2007-11-30 09:45:25 · answer #6 · answered by David T 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Yes - your principal can do this - actually it's the law. I found this online at the website below. They might be able to get this altered if they contact the school administration, based on the fact that it is hunting season, the weapons are for hunting, and they were locked in the vehicles, and the safeties were on. It's worth a shot!
The Federal Gun-Free Schools Act of 1994 requires expulsion of pupils for possession of weapons at school. Expulsion is to be for a period of not less than one calendar year for any pupil determined to “be in possession of a weapon at school, on school property, or at a school sponsored activity.” Also, the school is required to notify the appropriate state and local law enforcement agencies if a student brings any weapon to school. The chief administrative officer of the school may modify the expulsion requirement in a manner that is consistent with the requirements of federal law.
2007-11-30 09:39:56 · answer #7 · answered by Dominicks Granny 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The planner and disciplinary policy are just guidelines, not legally binding documents.
It does seem a bit outrageous, but the policy is the policy. No guns on school property. Period.
2007-11-30 09:37:48 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
Yea it's wrong but...
But the fact is anyone can break into the truck, take the guns, and have a shooting spree. I think the Seniors should have had enough sense to know better than to bring weapons to the school.
On the other hand I do think 1yr is way too much, maybe the principle is trying to make an example out of them... it all depends if they're fighting it, make a public apology and so forth.
2007-11-30 09:34:12 · answer #9 · answered by Dahlias 3 · 1⤊ 2⤋
In High School chances are they are under 18. They can be prosecuted for having a gun in thier possession. It is understandable will all the killings happening in schools now a days that a severe punishment is necessary. In one of our local schools a kid wrote a note about a bomb being in the school he threw the note away,, it was found , he was suspended for a year. Lets KEEP our kids SAFE
2007-11-30 09:36:37 · answer #10 · answered by cblack6540 5 · 4⤊ 0⤋
If the planner and disciplinary policy actually states 10 days suspension, 10 days is for a first offense. Since your story is incomplete and biased you have left us to fill in the gaps. Bringing a gun to school is a SERIOUS offense.
The fact that they hid the guns tells me that they KNEW it was wrong. It does not in any way mitigate what they did.
Please provide the name of the school so more information can be found. I have done a pretty in depth search and am not finding any news coverage of this.
2007-11-30 09:35:13 · answer #11 · answered by davidmi711 7 · 3⤊ 3⤋