Kindergartner Suspended For Bringing ‘Bubble Gun’ To School
A 5-year-old kindergartner was suspended from Southeast Elementary School on Monday after she brought a toy bubble gun into her classroom.
According to Fox31 Denver, the unidentified girl placed the toy gun in her backpack without telling her mother, and then they both headed to her elementary school in Brighton, Colorado. The 5-year-old apparently pulled out the bubble gun during morning recess. When the kindergartner’s teachers saw the “weapon,” they reported it, leading to the young girl’s suspension.
The girl’s mother, identified only as Emma, said she was completely unaware that her daughter had brought the toy to school. She wasn’t informed until later in the day when she received a call from her daughter’s teacher, telling her to come pick her up.
Colorado kindergartner suspended for bringing toy bubble gun to school https://t.co/LN2k6oztXh pic.twitter.com/QhE6QPGE8y
— FOX 10 Phoenix (@FOX10Phoenix) May 18, 2016
“If they had contacted me and said can you make sure this doesn’t happen again, we just want you to be aware, I think that would have been a more appropriate way to handle the situation. Could we have a warning? It blows bubbles,” Emma said.
Despite Emma’s concerns with how the situation was handled, the school is sticking to their decision. The school called the bubble gun a “safety concern,” and “a distraction for our students in the learning process.” The kindergartner was ultimately suspended for bringing a “fake weapon” to school.
Southeast Elementary School released the following statement regarding the incident.
“While we hear and understand the parents of this student being concerned about this discipline in light of the student’s age and type of item, this suspension is consistent with our district policy as well as how Southeast has handled similar situations throughout this school year. This has involved similar situations where students have brought items such as Nerf guns to school and also received one-day suspensions. The bringing of weapons, real or facsimile, to our schools by students can not only create a potential safety concern but also cause a distraction for our students in the learning process. Our schools, particularly Southeast because of past instances with students bringing fake weapons to school, make a point of asking parents to be partners in making sure students are not bringing these items to school. This includes asking parents to check backpacks.”
Although Emma said she understands their policy, she is upset that her daughter will be missing school for something so “silly,” and that the incident will remain in her school file throughout her entire education. Emma said she doesn’t think her daughter deserved such a severe punishment, and now her school year has ended on a bad note.
“I don’t want her to miss out on class,” Emma said. “That’s a silly reason not to go to school. What bugs me is this is going to be something they can refer to if we have any issues in the future which I don’t foresee, but it’s always going to be lingering there in her school file.”
What? Really? https://t.co/OMsAVbr9eK
— Fox 5 Sharon Chen (@sharonchenfox5) May 18, 2016
“She didn’t deserve that,” Emma added. “She didn’t deserve a punishment like that.”
According to Denver 7, the bubble gun that lead to the kindergartner’s suspension costs only $5. It is clear, blue and yellow, and has a Frozen princess bubble bottle attached to it.
[Photo via Shutterstock]
