Toy Guns Added to School Weapons Ban

Zero tolerance for weapons in Simi Valley schools includes toys and replicas as well as the real thing, school officials have decided.

The Simi Valley Unified School District added those items to its policy on weapons Tuesday, ending months of debate over whether bringing toy guns to school should result in student suspension.

Although students have been suspended for bringing toy weapons to school, toys and replicas were never formally part of the district’s written policy. With the amendments, however, principals and other administrators can exercise discretion on whether a student should be suspended.

When a student brings a real weapon on campus, the administrator is required to suspend the student immediately and consider whether to recommend the student for expulsion.

Supt. Mary Beth Wolford recommended that the board include toy weapons in its policy. Toys and replicas can be as disruptive to school as real weapons, and some are difficult to differentiate, she said.

But board members also did not want students treated too harshly.

“We have to be reasonable and sensible,” said Trustee Debbie Sandland. “I don’t want to see kids suspended for five days for bringing a toy gun to school.”