It is the policy of the PCSD that a student shall not possess, use, handle, or transmit any object that reasonably can be considered a weapon. Weapons may include, but are not limited to:

1. Any handgun, firearm, rifle, shotgun, or similar weapon; any explosive compound or incendiary device; or, any other dangerous weapon as defined in O.C.G.A. § 16-11-121, including a rocket launcher, bazooka, recoilless rifle, mortar, or hand grenade.

2. Any knife, straight-edge razor, razor blade, spring stick, knuckles, whether made from metal, thermoplastic, wood, or other similar material, blackjack, any bat, club, or other bludgeon-type weapon, or any flailing instrument consisting of two or more rigid parts connected in such a manner as to allow them to swing freely, which may be known as a nun chahka, nun chuck, nunchaku, shuriken, or fighting chain, or any disc, of whatever configuration, having at least two points or pointed blades which is designed to be thrown or propelled and which may be known as a throwing star or oriental dart, or any weapon of like kind, and any non lethal air gun, and any stun gun or taser. Such item shall not include any of these instruments used for classroom work authorized by the teacher.

Students who possess any weapon described above will be in violation of this policy and will be subject to a minimum of one calendar year expulsion. The superintendent shall have the authority either before or after the student is referred for a tribunal hearing to reduce the mandated one-year expulsion under circumstances where the one-year expulsion appears excessive to the superintendent. The tribunal shall also have the authority to modify such expulsion requirement on a case-by-case basis in determining the appropriate punishment.

Finally, in any tribunal decision appealed to the Pickens BOE, the Pickens BOE may reduce the mandated punishment but shall consider whether the superintendent and/or tribunal considered a reduction and any rationale in denying such a reduction. Students who possess any weapon as described in #2 above will be subject to discipline as specified in the Student Code of Conduct.

Reporting Requirements

An employee who believes a student possesses a weapon or is involved in an assault using a weapon while on campus, must immediately report such violations to the school principal/assistant principal. If the principal has reasonable cause to believe that such report is valid, he/she must immediately make an oral report to the superintendent and the appropriate law enforcement authority and district attorney.

The student’s parents or guardian will be notified immediately of his/her child’s involvement in any activity involving weapons.

Students with Disabilities Related to Misbehavior (weapons violation); 45 Day Interim Alternative Placement

Any child with a disability who is determined to have brought a weapon to school may be placed in an interim alternative educational setting for not more than 45 school days, as determined and ordered by a special education committee qualified to make special education decisions under 20USC1401 (a) (20). If a parent or guardian requests a due process hearing under the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), the child shall nevertheless remain in the alternative educational setting referred to above during the pendency of any proceeding conducted in connection therewith, unless the parents and duly authorized school system representatives agree otherwise.

Students with Disabilities Unrelated to Misbehavior

Any student with a disability whose behavior is unrelated to the disability shall be subject to the one-year expulsion requirement for a “firearms” violation as defined above the same as a student without such a disability, except to the extent that such expulsion is inconsistent with the Department of Education’s final guidance concerning state and local responsibilities under the Gun-Free School Act of 1994, as amended.

[LEGAL REF.: O.C.G.A. § 16-11-106; 16-11-127.1; 20-2-1184 (GA. Laws 1990, Vol. I, p.1834); Improving America’s Schools Act of 1994, Title I, S14501; Title III, S 314, amending 20 USC 1415(e) (3); Honig v. DOE, 484 U.S. 305 (1988)]