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Student threatening another student

What rights does a parent have when his son is threatened at school, by another student. The other student said, "When I bring a gun to school your the first one I'm going to get." The principal is aware of this because it has also been brought to her attention before, and nothing has been done about it, nor was anything done when I complained. What are my legal rights?

Montana law provides that the supervision and control of schools in this state is vested in the local, elected board of trustees. Mont. Constitution, Art. X, Sec. 8. The law goes on to provide that the superintendent (or principal if no superintendent) has general supervisory power over all pupils in the district and may suspend a student for good cause. MCA 20-4-402(6). Pupils are subject to the control and authority of the teachers, principal, and superintendent while the pupil is in school or on school property, on the way to and from school, and during recess. MCA 20-5-201(1)(d). Finally, Montana law states that the "trustees of a district shall adopt a policy for the expulsion of a student who is determined to have brought a firearm, as defined in 18 U.S.C. 921, to school and for referring the matter to the appropriate local law enforcement agency. A student who is determined to have brought a firearm to school under this subsection must be expelled from school for a period of not less than 1 year, except that the trustees may authorize the school administration to modify the requirement for expulsion of a student on a case-by-case basis." MCA 20-5-202(2).

In this instance, your best course of action is to bring the matter to the district superintendent's attention and, if necessary, to the trustees' attention. If you need the name or telephone number of those individuals, please call our office at 406-444-4402 and we can find it for you.

When we receive a threat of violence involving a Montana school, we contact the school district and, in some cases, the local law enforcement agency. I can't do this in this case, of course, because your question does not contain information about the particular school district. If you want to report this threat to us, please call us at 406-444-4402. Legal Divsion Montana Office of Public Instruction 1227 11th Avenue P. O. Box 202501 Helena, MT 59620-2501 Tel: 406-444-4402 Fax: 406-444-2893 www.opi.mt.gov

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