8 Year old suspended for bringing toy gun to school

[sbr]

http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2010/02/toy_gun_for_gi_joe_action_figu.html

Portland district will look again at toy gun rule that led to 8-year-old's suspension
By Kimberly Melton, The Oregonian
February 23, 2010, 7:51PM
Eight-year-old Austin Anderson  brought a 4-inch-long plastic toy gun to school in late January. It was about the width of a typical Post-it note and would look small sitting next to a deck of playing cards. The gun fit snugly into the hand of the third-grader's   action figure.

But bringing that toy to Duniway Elementary School violated Portland Public Schools' weapons policy, and the principal immediately suspended the boy and sent him home for the day.

His father, Aron  Anderson, said Tuesday that the school's decision was extreme.

In response, school district officials have decided to revisit how they discipline students who make that kind of mistake.

Aron Anderson acknowledged his son shouldn't have brought the toy gun to school in the first place. The youngster had been playing with the toy the night before and brought the gun to school in his pants pocket, Anderson said.

But now his son has a letter in his permanent file that says the elementary student brought a simulated firearm to school. And the older Anderson said his son will suffer the consequences his entire school career.

"Was it a weapon? I think not," Aron Anderson said. "Is it a simulated weapon? I agree that it is a toy that resembles a gun. But is it a firearm? Not by a long shot."

Anderson said the issue could have been resolved through a parent-teacher conference. He originally appealed the suspension and letter to one of Portland's deputy superintendents, who upheld the school's decision. He made a final appeal to the Portland School Board on Monday night.

His effort spurred Portland officials to say they will take a second look at the district policy.

"The incident has prompted us to do a review of how we respond to simulated weapons that are toys," said Jollee Patterson,  Portland Public Schools general counsel.

Portland isn't the only school district that prohibits the use or possession of "look-alike" knives, guns or other weapons. The consequences vary, with some districts giving more leeway to principals and others issuing immediate suspensions as Portland did.

Each year, school districts must report suspensions and expulsions to the Oregon Department of Education. Portland suspends students for a wide variety of reasons that include arson, assault, battery, bomb threats, bullying, profane language, burglary, extortion, pulling the fire alarm falsely, fighting, plagiarism, robbery and bringing weapons to school.

In 2008-09, Portland Public Schools reported 5,573 out-of-school suspensions. Of those, 300 were issued to third-graders. Next year, Austin Anderson's suspension will likely be counted among those.

Aron Anderson hopes that won't be the case. He wants the district to remove the current letter from his son's file and replace it with a letter that more clearly reflects what happened. He also wants Portland to create a separate column for discipline related to toys and "look-alike" weapons, one that gives principals more leeway in making decisions.

"I don't think my son really understands he was suspended for carrying a toy weapon," Anderson said. "He said he knows not to take toys to school. But I think he could have learned the same lesson if the school called me and we sat down with the principal and told him it wasn't OK."

-- Kimberly Melton

[C.C.R.]

 

Stoopid yanquis...

[Darth Wagtaros]

This kid is now on every Do Not Fly list in the world.  new Hamas recruit.

[sbr]

Too bad Marti wasn't there to tackle the kid before he got into the school.

[garbon]

Too bad Marti wasn't there to tackle the kid before he got into the school.

Given the age of the perp and that the gun was in a pocket...wouldn't this case fall under Grallon's jurisdiction?

[C.C.R.]

Too bad Marti wasn't there to tackle the kid before he got into the school.

Given the age of the perp and that the gun was in a pocket...wouldn't this case fall under Grallon's jurisdiction?

[The Brain]

America blows. I was more eloquent in a recent similar thread so I'm spent now.

[Habbaku]

I clicked on this link thinking that this was the story from about a month ago, but it is not.  It's a repeat, but not (different school, different family, same size of toy gun), which is all the more tragic.

[starbright]

How is this news? Same thing would have happened ten years ago. This is not a new thing.

[ulmont]

So starbright, I assume you dont want the paper to report murders or fires anymore either, since they would have happened ten years ago as well?

I think your definition on news is a bit limiting.

[DontSayBanana]

What I want to know is how a scale miniature counts as a "look-alike;" I'd assume that by "look-alike," they would mean something bearing a close enough resemblance to be mistaken for the real thing at first glance.  Nobody would ever mistake a 4-inch piece of formed resin for a shotgun.

[Martim Silva]

In Portugal, any teacher/school employee who would do something similar would be considered a lunatic and, at the very least, suspended fom his/her job.

But it's America. Hope the kid is enjoying his freedom.

[Zanza]

So you guys can legally own assault rifles, openly carry weapons in some states, but bringing a 4 inch toy gun to school will get you suspended. Hmm.

[KRonn]

This kid is now on every Do Not Fly list in the world.  new Hamas recruit.

Make room in Gitmo for him!!

[KRonn]

So you guys can legally own assault rifles, openly carry weapons in some states, but bringing a 4 inch toy gun to school will get you suspended. Hmm.

Yes, we've "jumped the shark" on some of these issues.

Though I think part of the issue is that it's a lot easier legally to ban any type of gun/weapon, toy or otherwise, than try and make distinctions between the different types of toys. That's one impression I have, though it's still dumb assed anyway that we've had to come to this.