Huntsville City elementary students who bring firearms to school will face a ‘restorative panel’

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WAFF) - The Huntsville City School Board is getting ready for the upcoming school year. At its July 26 meeting the board made some changes to the weapons policy for elementary school students in their Behavioral Learning Guide.

School Board members will use a new system to decide how to punish the student if they bring a gun to school, implementing ‘restorative panel meetings.’

If a student brings a gun to school, school leaders would confiscate the weapon, inform the parents and then suspend the student, they will no longer be expelling students for having or using a firearm.

The principal or assistant principal, parents and the student have to go to a ‘restorative panel meeting.’ They would discuss the impact it had on the classroom and how to move forward.

Huntsville City School Board Attorney Chris Pape said it’s important for parents to weigh in on the conversation.

”We want parents to be there because it is their chance to be an advocate and maybe speak to what that plan could be,” Pape said. “If they choose not to there’s nothing stopping the district from making that decision and assigning a consequence and a plan for that student.”

This will go into effect in fall 2022.

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