A student who had been identified at one time as having Learning Disabilities was expelled from school because he had two pellet rifles and a broken BB gun in his vehicle parked on school grounds, according to a story by Lisa Black in the Chicago (IL, US) Tribune. Although she does not feature the issue in the story, Ms. Black has several references to the student having been identified as needing special education earlier in his school life. Ms. Black reported that the boy’s parents are suing to have him reinstated, but it does not make clear whether the parents’ attorney will raise the issue of manifestation determination. If that matter is raise, it could get pretty interesting.
The parents of a former Zion high school student are suing district officials to have him reinstated in school after he was expelled for two years when plastic pellet guns were found in his vehicle.
Louis Venturi, 17, was expelled from Zion-Benton High School in May after leaving two pellet rifles and a broken BB gun in the back of his sport-utility vehicle on school property. The guns were left over from a weekend outing with his father.
Under the district’s zero-tolerance policy, pellet guns and similar items are considered weapons and prohibited on campuses. But Venturi’s parents said school district officials are overreacting and the guns are basically toys.
The parents will be in federal court in Chicago Wednesday to try to get their son back into school. Venturi would have been a senior this year.
Link to Ms. Black’s story (registration may be required)
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