Ka Mauri Harrison, 4th grader suspended for having a BB gun in his bedroom during virtual class
The attorney general for Louisiana is investigating a public elementary school for suspending a fourth-grader after his teacher noticed a BB gun in his room during an online class. “I am alarmed by what appears to not only be multiple violations of both the state and federal Constitutions, but also blatant government overreach by the school system,” Attorney General Jeff Landry said in a statement. “For anyone to conclude that a student’s home is now school property because of connectivity through video conferencing is absurd.”
Ka Mauri Harrison, is a fourth grader at Woodmere Elementary School in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, who was said to be taking a test in his bedroom on September 11, when one of his siblings, who shares his room, stepped or tripped on a BB gun that Ka Mauri had received as a gift. Ka Mauri picked up the gun and was out of sight from the screen for a moment. He then placed the BB gun next to him in his chair. By the end of the day, he was facing suspension from school — and possible expulsion.
Chelsea Cusimano, a lawyer hired by the family, told USA TODAY that the school violated multiple due process violations in suspending him. She said that the school did not have distance learning-specific rules in place, instead basing their suspension on on-campus policies that should not apply to distance-learning students.
