A student rights lawyer focuses on issues of school safety, discipline, special education and student civil rights.

       It has been more than 25 years since President Clinton signed the GUN-FREE SCHOOLS ACT law that resulted in every state enacting its own law forbidding guns (and other weapons) from being on a public school campus (school buildings, grounds, parking lot etc.) This national policy requires that every state receiving federal funds (all 50 states) must have a rule requiring the automatic expulsion for one year of any student found in the possession of a gun or found to have brought a gun to school.

      The GUN-FREE SCHOOLS ACT denies school disciplinary hearing panels any discretion to consider a student’s particular circumstances or to grant any leniency. This law prohibits students who have been bullied or fear bullying from bringing a gun to school. 

      Most states have adopted a law applying to guns and other weapons such as knives. However, in most states, the superintendent of schools may hear an appeal from the automatic expulsion imposed by a disciplinary panel. The superintendent may reduce the out of school sanction to a lesser amount of time on suspension.

      If your child is charged with a school disciplinary violation involving a gun or other weapon, it is still a good idea to seek legal advice. With help from a qualified student rights lawyer, evidence about your child’s background, school record and the circumstances of the incident involving a weapon can be made part of the audio or video record of the disciplinary hearing. That record can be submitted to the superintendent for consideration of a lesser sanction than the automatic one-year expulsion.

      Knowing your child’s rights and responsibilities under the GUN-FREE SCHOOLS ACT is important in the event of an incident involving a weapon. Knowledge of your state law is equally important. For a no-cost phone consultation about this or any other STUDENT RIGHTS matter, contact student rights lawyer Clifford Cohen, 785.979.7361 or email him at cac@studentrightslawyers.com