The Board of Education desires students and staff to be free from the danger presented by firearms and other weapons.
(cf. 3515.3 - District Police/Security Department)
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, or at a school-related or school-sponsored activity away from school, or while going to or coming from school.
Students possessing or threatening others with a weapon, dangerous instrument or imitation firearm are subject to suspension and/or expulsion in accordance with law, Board policy and administrative regulations.
(cf. 5144.1 - Suspension and Expulsion/Due Process)
(cf. 5144.2 - Suspension and Expulsion/Due Process (Individuals with Disabilities))
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. 0450 - Comprehensive Safety Plan)
(cf. 4158/4258/4358 - Employee Security)
The principal or designee shall notify law enforcement authorities when any student possesses a weapon or commits any act of assault with a firearm or other weapon. (20 USC 7151; Education Code 48902; Penal Code 245, 626.9, 626.10)
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 or on school grounds; exception
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 machinegun
12401 Tear gas
12402 Tear gas weapon
12403.7 Weapons approved for self defense
12403.8 Minors 16 or over; tear gas and tear gas weapons
12555 Imitation firearms
UNITED STATES CODE, TITLE 20
6301-7941 No Child Left Behind Act; especially:
7151 Gun-Free Schools Act
Management Resources:
CDE COMMUNICATIONS
0401.01 Protecting Student Identification in Reporting Injurious Objects
CSBA PUBLICATIONS
911: A Manual for Schools and the Media During a Campus Crisis, 2001
Protecting Our Schools: Governing Board Strategies to Combat School Violence, 1999
WEB SITES
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
CSBA: http://www.csba.org
National Alliance for Safe Schools: http://www.safeschools.org
National School Safety Center: http://www.nssc1.org
U.S. Department of Education, Safe Schools: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/osers/osep/gtss.html
Policy PETALUMA CITY SCHOOLS
adopted: June 25, 2002 Petaluma, California
revised: March 13, 2007