APS balks at lifetime expulsions for students who bring guns to school

As schools saw a dramatic uptick of guns on campuses last year, Albuquerque Public Schools officials over the summer break proposed changes to the district’s student handbook that would have confronted those who bring weapons to school with a much harsher consequence than in years past: lifetime expulsion.

But in the handbook it ultimately settled on, the district changed course.

Instead of listing “permanent expulsion hearing” under the consequences for students who have brought a firearm on school grounds, as the earlier proposal did, the final draft published on APS’ website softens that language, saying such students will face an expulsion hearing “with mandatory expulsion of a period of not less than one year.”

Last school year, the student handbook did not have language about expulsion hearings in that consequences section, but did still require at least a one-year expulsion. State statute also calls for districts to expel students for at least a year when they knowingly bring guns to school.

Under the proposed student handbook, students who used firearms would also have faced permanent expulsion hearings. And under the handbook that was approved, the consequence for that infraction was also changed — to a hearing with mandatory one-year expulsion “and up to permanent expulsion.”

Superintendent Scott Elder said district leaders discussed the proposal, but ultimately “listened to the public” and pulled back on the changes.

In addition to permanent expulsion being a tough pill to swallow for educators, he pointed out that sometimes students make mistakes — saying there have been cases when students have a gun in their car, like for hunting trips, forget it’s there, then come to school with it — and that permanent expulsion makes a blanket statement for all students regardless of their age.

“The concept of permanent expulsion is pretty difficult for educators — we don’t like the idea of removing a child from education,” Elder added. “We started thinking about the ages of the kids, … and what happens with a third-grader versus a much older child, a high school student? It just felt different, and we didn’t want to be locked into one thing.”

Elder did say he felt more comfortable with permanent expulsion being on the table for students who bring guns to school and actually use them, saying, “I understand that that’s a harsh penalty, but there are consequences for actions, and we have a responsibility to the public as well to keep our schools safe, as well to our staff and students.”

Originally, Chief of Schools Channell Segura told the Journal earlier this year, the plan was for the district cabinet to take the measure up in mid-June, and to get it into the student handbook for this school year.

Segura at the time also said that telling students they’re not welcome in APS “goes against everything in our bones.” Still, she said the changes were rooted in concerns from school staff about safety.

But the original language also got early opposition from both community members and some school board members who, granted, wouldn’t have been the deciding voices on the issue.

Cheryl Haase, a language arts teacher at Grant Middle School, applauded the pivot from permanent expulsions, saying that while she thinks students who bring guns to school should spend some time out of class, schools should be more focused on addressing the root causes and helping them.

The district, in turn, should focus on encouraging parents who own guns to securely store their firearms, she added. In each of its student codes of conduct for firearms use and possession, APS includes a paragraph for parents about the importance of safe gun storage.

“I’m glad they didn’t put (in) the idea to expel every student who might bring a firearm for the rest of their school career, because that’s one size fits all,” Haase said. “I do think there could be serious consequences, and I do think the safety of staff and students must be considered. But if a third grader brings a gun to school, that’s a parent problem, that they’re not securing their guns.”