The Board of Trustees desires students and staff to be free from the danger presented by firearms and other weapons and recognizes that they have the right to a safe and secure campus free from psychological and physical harm.
(cf. 0450 - Comprehensive Safety Plan)
(cf. 5116.1 - Intradistrict Open Enrollment)
(cf. 5131 - Conduct)
(cf. 5144 - Discipline)
Possession of Weapons
The Board prohibits any person other than authorized law enforcement or security personnel from possessing weapons, imitation firearms, or dangerous instruments of any kind in school buildings, on school grounds or buses, at school-related or school-sponsored activities away from school, or while going to or coming from school.
(cf. 3515.3 - District Police/Security Department)
Unless he/she has obtained prior written permission as specified below, any student who is determined to have brought a firearm to school or possessed a firearm at school, as verified by a school employee, shall be expelled for not less than one year, except that the Board may set an earlier date for readmission on a case-by-case basis, in accordance with Board policy and administrative regulation. (Education Code 48915; 20 USC 7151)
(cf. 5144.1 - Suspension and Expulsion/Due Process)
(cf. 5144.2 - Suspension and Expulsion/Due Process (Individuals with Disabilities))
Students possessing or threatening others with any weapon, dangerous instrument, or imitation firearm are subject to suspension and/or expulsion in accordance with law, Board policy, and administrative regulations.
Under the power granted to the Board to maintain order and discipline in the schools and to protect the safety of students, staff, and the public, any school employee is authorized to confiscate a weapon, dangerous instrument, or imitation firearm from any person on school grounds.
(cf. 4158/4258/4358 - Employee Security)
The principal or designee shall notify law enforcement authorities when any student possesses a weapon without permission or commits any act of assault with a firearm or other weapon. (Education Code 48902; Penal Code 245, 626.9, 626.10; 20 USC 7151)
Possession of Pepper Spray
To prevent potential misuse that may harm students or staff, students are prohibited from carrying tear gas or tear gas weapons such as pepper spray on campus or at school activities.
Reporting of Dangerous Objects
The Board encourages students to promptly report the presence of weapons, injurious objects, or other suspicious activity to school authorities. The identity of a student who reports such activity shall remain confidential to the extent permitted by law.
(cf. 5125 - Student Records)
The Superintendent or designee shall develop strategies designed to facilitate student reporting of the presence of injurious objects on school grounds, such as tip hotlines, electronic transmissions, or other methods that preserve the student's anonymity. Incident reports and records shall not identify the student who reported the possession. The strategy shall also provide a method of informing staff, students, and parents/guardians that students who report the presence of injurious objects on school campuses are to be protected and their identity shielded.
(cf. 5138 - Conflict Resolution/Peer Mediation)
Legal Reference:
EDUCATION CODE
35291 Governing board to prescribe rules for discipline of the schools
48900 Grounds for suspension/expulsion
48902 Notification of law enforcement authorities
48915 Required recommendation for expulsions
48916 Readmission
PENAL CODE
245 Assault with deadly weapon
417.4 Imitation firearm; drawing or exhibiting
626.9 Gun-Free School Zone Act of 1995
626.10 Dirks, daggers, knives, razor or stun gun; bringing or possessing in school
653k Soliciting a minor to commit certain felonies
12001 Control of deadly weapons
12020-12036 Unlawful carrying and possession of concealed weapons
12220 Unauthorized possession of a machine gun
12550-12556 BB devices and imitation firearms
UNITED STATES CODE, TITLE 20
6301-7941 No Child Left Behind Act; especially:
7151 Gun-Free Schools Act
Management Resources:
CSBA PUBLICATIONS
911: A Manual for Schools and the Media During a Campus Crisis, 2001
Protecting Our Schools: Board of Trustees Strategies to Combat School Violence, 1999
CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION COMMUNICATIONS
0401.01 Protecting Student Identification in Reporting Injurious Objects
WEB SITES
CSBA: http://www.csba.org
California Attorney General's Crime and Violence Prevention Center: http://www.safestate.org
California Department of Education, Safe Schools: http://www.cde.ca.gov/ls/ss
National Alliance for Safe Schools: http://www.safeschools.org
National School Safety Center: http:/ www.schoolsafety.us
U.S. Department of Education, Office of Safe and Drug Free Schools: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/osdfs/index.html
Policy BURLINGAME SCHOOL DISTRICT
adopted: September 21, 2010 Burlingame, California