Weapons

(Visit the SSD website at http://www.ssdvt.org/main/district/district-policies/ for school board policy)

A student who brings a weapon to school or to any school activity, on or off school property, will be expelled for up to one year according to the federal Gun Free Schools Act of 1994, Act No. 35 of the 1995 session of the Vermont General Assembly, and local policies-I21. A weapon is defined as a gun, knife or other object used as a weapon, or substances and chemicals that are considered harmful to others.

A student who brings any size knife in any form to school will be suspended immediately. If the same student is found by the School Board, after a hearing, to have brought a weapon or knife to school, the student shall be expelled for 90 days or through the remainder of the school year, whichever is longer. However, the School Board may modify the expulsion on a case by case basis depending on the circumstances. In addition, any student who brings a weapon to school shall be referred to a law enforcement agency.

Exemptions from this policy for items that may be defined as a weapon are allowed when used as part of a curriculum, but must be pre-approved by a building administrator, the Superintendent or the School Board. Under these circumstances, the student with the weapon for classroom presentation must be escorted to the classroom by the Principal or Assistant Principal. (For further information about weapons in school, see School Board Policy F21 at http://www.ssdvt.org/main/district/district-policies/ .