Parents Say Even Toy Guns on Campus Should Bring Suspension

School campuses should remain free of weapons of any kind--whether real or toy, parents emphatically told school board members Tuesday.

Arguing for the strictest interpretation possible of the zero-tolerance policy on weapons, parents said the Simi Valley Unified School District should continue suspending students who bring replicas of weapons to school.

Since June 1994, administrators in Simi Valley have sent home students for bringing replicas, squirt guns, and even a bullet on a key chain to school. One school board member argues the district’s rules on toys should be relaxed.

But Tuesday night, parents and administrators said the policy should remain intact.

“Just because it has a colorful plastic handle doesn’t mean it can’t shoot a bullet and cause great bodily harm,” said Ron Cramer, a parent, a gun owner and member of the National Rifle Assn.

Julie Francis said she and her husband left the San Fernando Valley to find safer schools in Simi Valley.

“Please, zero tolerance is the only way in Simi Valley,” she said.

Annette Morgan said that even her 5-year-old son knew better than to bring a toy gun to school.

“He was a cowboy for Halloween and he had bananas in his holsters,” she said. “I do not want their thoughts focused on whether the gun in Johnny’s backpack is real or not and whether it can kill them.”

Several representatives of parent-student-teacher associations in the district also urged the board to keep the policy and its enforcement strict on toys as well as real weapons.

Principals in the district joined the chorus, stating that neither they nor teachers nor students should have to determine what is a real or fake weapon.

“It is imperative that a zero-tolerance policy be in place and enforced,” said Hillside Junior High Principal Terry Webb, who spoke on behalf of all secondary school principals. Dee Pekrul of Township School spoke for elementary principals, making the same points.

“Safety is essential to the learning environment,” she said.

The board did not take a vote on the issue, but Wolford has recommended that members continue the ban on toys and replicas as part of the district’s zero-tolerance enforcement.

At its next meeting in three weeks, the board will discuss the appropriate discipline for bringing toy weapons to campus.

The district will also have to amend its policy to comply with language of a new state law that took effect Jan. 1, Wolford said. That language states that possession of an “imitation firearm,” is grounds for suspension.

“We must have our policy in accordance with state law,” she said.

An imitation firearm is defined in the law as “a replica of a firearm that is so substantially similar in physical properties to an existing firearm as to lead a reasonable person to conclude that the replica is a firearm.”

The Conejo Unified School District is also considering amending its policy to reflect the new law.

The board’s consideration of the issue came at the request of Trustee Carla Kurachi, who contends it is illegal to suspend students for bringing toy weapons to school. Kurachi said suspension should be used only as a last resort for students who disobey the rules after they have been warned.

Kurachi’s position has angered some parents, who accuse her of abusing her power by intervening on her son’s behalf last year. Her fifth-grade son Scott was asked to leave school for bringing a silver and black plastic gun that shoots out a handkerchief reading “Bang!” to campus last year. Kurachi refused to pick him up, telling the administrator it was against district policy.

The administrator bowed to Kurachi’s wishes and left Scott in school.