It’s about time the Colorado legislature look at introducing flexibility and reason into school weapon laws. Other states such as Texas now have laws mandating the consideration of intent and previous behavior into the suspension and expulsion process.

Our own Attorney General’s School Safety guidelines strongly encourage using expulsion only for those cases that are serious threats to health and safety of students. But many districts still are using zero tolerance discipline, such as Jefferson County, which expels over 300 students a year. Other districts such as Boulder Valley are making the change to Restorative Discipline, and have cut expulsions to a minimum, without decreasing safety. Modern school safety is multifaceted and includes controlling school access, effective anti-bullying programs, and common-sense discipline. Zero tolerance may have seemed like the right thing to do after the Columbine tragedy, but it has proven harmful, and even counterproductive in that students may be afraid to “tell” on a peer if it will result in expulsion even if things weren’t serious. Families’ and students’ lives are turned upside down by unwarranted expulsions, and many never graduate.

Thank goodness, Marie Morrow’s school “interpreted” state law, and limited her punishment to suspension, for the mistake of leaving facsimile weapons in her car at school. Several years ago in New York state, a senior left his Civil War uniform and inoperative musket in his car after a re-enactment. He was expelled, and despondent over a ruined future, committed suicide. State law was then changed to allow more reasonable decisions by schools. Colorado has mourned Columbine for ten years, and it’s time for common-sense changes.