4210 Firearms and Other Dangerous Weapons Prohibited
I. Dangerous Weapons Prohibited – Application to Students, Staff, and Other Persons
Students, staff, and all other persons, including, but not limited to, visitors, vendors/contractors, and non-Seattle Public Schools students, are prohibited from carrying or possessing a firearm or dangerous weapon on school premises, school-provided transportation, areas of other facilities being used exclusively for school activities, or areas of facilities being used for official meetings of the School Board.
Individuals are exempt from this prohibition only to the extent permitted by law, including individuals engaged in authorized military or law enforcement activities.
II. Definitions
III. Reporting Violations and Disciplinary Response
Call 9-1-1 if a student has a firearm or there is another imminent threat.
The Safety and Security Office (206-252-0707), school administrator, and Regional Executive Director of Schools should also be notified immediately.
Additional reporting requirements may be outlined in District policies and procedures.
If District staff believe that a student has violated this policy, an appropriate school authority will promptly notify the student’s parents or guardians and the appropriate law enforcement agency of known or suspected violations of this policy.
All disciplinary actions issued to students who violate this policy are subject to Board Policy No. 3240, Student Behavior and Disciplinary Responses, and the Basic Rules of Seattle Public Schools. State law requires expulsion for not less than one year for students who have been determined to have carried or possessed a firearm on school premises in violation of this policy and provides for suspension or expulsion for up to one year if a student acts with malice (as defined under RCW 9A.04.110) and displays a device that appears to be a firearm.
If a District employee believes that another District employee has violated this policy, the employee will report the concerns to an appropriate school or District authority for further inquiry and discipline, as applicable, under Board Policy No. 5281, Staff Disciplinary Action and Discharge.
IV. District Prohibitions
It is the policy of this District that the presence of firearms and other dangerous weapons in the workplace or educational environment is to be minimized as much as possible. As such, the following activities are prohibited by this policy regardless of whether such possession would violate state law, and regardless of whether the weapon is secured in a vehicle or possessed by a person with a concealed weapons permit:
V. Exceptions
This policy does not apply to employees and vendors/contractors who possess devices or objects that are used in the course of their employment (e.g., tools, box cutter, scalpel, or kitchen knife).
This policy does not apply to kitchen knives when possessed and used for food preparation and culinary purposes.
Non-student visitors may carry a small folding knife (2-½ inch blade or less) for personal use, provided the knife is not used or displayed as a weapon.
State law provides that the following persons may carry firearms into school buildings, as necessary, although students engaged in these activities are restricted to the possession of rifles on school premises:
The following persons who are over eighteen years of age, not employed by the District, and not enrolled as students may have firearms in their possession on school property outside of school buildings only under the following limited circumstances:
Persons may bring dangerous weapons, other than firearms, onto school premises if the weapons are lawfully within the person’s possession and are to be used in a school-authorized activity or class such as a martial arts class.
VI. Personal Protection Spray
Persons eighteen years of age or older, and persons between fourteen and seventeen years of age with written parental or guardian permission, may possess personal protection spray devices on school property. No one under eighteen years of age may deliver such devices. No one eighteen years or older may deliver a spray device to anyone under fourteen, or to anyone between fourteen and seventeen who does not have parental permission.
Personal protection spray devices may not be used other than in self-defense as defined by state law. Possession, transmission or use of personal protection spray devices under any other circumstances is a violation of District policy.
VII. Direction to Post Gun-Free Zone Signs
The Superintendent is directed to ensure that all school facilities post “Gun-Free Zone” signs, and that all known violations of this policy and RCW 9.41.280 are reported annually to the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction.
The Superintendent is also directed to ensure that signs providing notice of restrictions on possessing dangerous weapons are posted at each facility being used for official meetings of the Board.
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