Board Rejects Stiffer Rule on Weapons at Schools

A controversial measure to expel all students caught with weapons on school campuses was rejected Monday by the Los Angeles Unified School District board.

The motion lost on a 6-1 vote, with only board member Roberta Weintraub supporting the policy change, which would have removed district officials’ discretion to transfer or temporarily suspend students who bring guns or knives to school.

Board members complained that the measure was too broad and robbed students of constitutionally guaranteed protections by mandating that all cases, regardless of circumstances, require expulsion.

Currently, expulsion decisions are made by special district panels that include a school psychologist and counselor, and are reviewed by the school board.

“What we need to talk about is adding more counselors in school,” argued board member Rita Walters. “Children are in trouble today and we do not help their problems . . . by talking about how we can kick them out of school faster.”

While current district policy recommends expulsion of students carrying weapons on campus, it allows “suspended enforcement” of the expulsions to permit students to attend special alternative education programs outside regular schools.

During the 1988-89 school year, more than 400 students were recommended for expulsion because they carried or used guns, knives, explosives or other “dangerous objects” at school. However, all but a few were transferred to other, more restrictive district programs, and most were allowed to return to regular schools after two semesters.

The district’s discipline policies have been hotly debated by the board since the release earlier this year of a task force report urging adoption of tougher standards.

The board has long subscribed to the notion that youngsters can be rehabilitated and has committed substantial resources to providing the alternative programs where troubled children could succeed.

But the dramatic increase in weapons possession among elementary, junior high and high school students in recent years, and growing concern over attacks on students and teachers, led the board to consider tougher sanctions.

“There seems to be a lot of feeling on the part of some board members that it’s more important to protect those students who bring weapons than to protect those who need to have a safe school environment,” said Weintraub, who sponsored Monday’s failed motion. “We need to send a message that it’s not OK to bring guns on campus.”

Though the board rejected the notion of automatic expulsion, it did vote 6 to 1 to consider the task force report recommending tougher discipline policies, and will hold a series of meetings to discuss the report during the next few months.

Many board members are concerned that more stringent policies might result in the district neglecting troubled, but redeemable, students--particularly those very young children who do not qualify for programs outside the district.

Under so-called straight expulsion, those students would simply be out of school for at least a year, at which time they could seek reinstatement but would have to demonstrate that they had been rehabilitated.

The dilemma for the district is: “Are we trying to keep kids in school, or are we trying to get rid of our problems,” said Don Bolton, head of the district’s student attendance and adjustment services. “And if we’re trying to get rid of our problems, which ones are we trying to get rid of?”