# 4th grade virtual learner gets suspended for having a BB gun in his bedroom



## Leeda.the.Paladin (Sep 25, 2020)

*4th grade virtual learner gets suspended for having a BB gun in his bedroom*






4th grade virtual learner suspended for having a BB gun in his bedroom (Source: Wvue) 
By Natasha Robin | September 24, 2020 at 5:05 PM CDT - Updated September 25 at 10:34 AM 

NEW ORLEANS, La. (WVUE) - 9-year-old Ka Mauri Harrison is a 4th grader at Woodmere Elementary and this year he’s a virtual learner so his classroom is his bedroom.
The school suspended Ka Mauri for violating a federal weapons law.

“I feel like they were picking, and totally just invading privacy. We can’t have no privacy in the house,” Nyron Harrison said.
On Sept. 11th, Ka Mauri was taking a test on the computer when his dad says Ka Mauri’s brother walking into the room and tripped over Ka Mauri’s BB gun.

“Ka Mauri picked it up and moved it out of the way, out of the walking path. When he moved it, he picked it up briefly and set it on the other side of him,” Harrison said.
According to the paperwork from his expulsion hearing, the teacher’s account of what happened matches Ka Mauri’s.

She stated, ‘He placed it on the side of his chair so that we could only see the barrel.’
“You know, she had an obligation to report this to the principal, but her obligation ended there and from there is where everything went awry,” Harrison’s attorney, Chelsea Cusimano, said.

Cusimano attended Ka Mauri’s hearing.
“The policies in place are so robotic in nature to apply to guns on campus. They went into this school year without any policy or procedure on how to handle the privacy of someone’s own home,” Cusimano said.
The Jefferson Parish School system told us they don’t comment on individual student records, but pointed to its online policies.
The policy stated in part, “Illegal carrying, possession or use of a firearm or dangerous weapon within the boundaries of school property or on a school bus is a crime.”

“This is a privacy issue. Not only is this a due process issue and an intentional issue of emotional distress on a 9-year-old, it’s a second amendment ‘right to bear arms’ issue,” Cusimano said.

“I think all of this could have been thrown out the window when the teacher found out what the situation was,” Harrison said.

Nyron Harrison doesn’t believe his home should be considered an extension of school property and says his son became humiliated when the school asked his classmates to write letters about the incident.

“Embarrassed and he felt like he did something wrong,” Harrison said.

School officials suspended Ka Mauri for six days.

“He’s now been submitted for a social worker assessment. This is not a child that needs a social worker’s assessment,” Cusimano said.

The weapons violation is now a part of Ka Mauri’s permanent public school record.
“It’s going to follow him going to college, picking colleges and whatnot,” Harrison said.

“This is a pre-judgment of a 9-year old that will impact his educational career for the rest of his life,” Cusimano said.


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## naturalgyrl5199 (Sep 25, 2020)

Dicey.
In that case, anyone who owns a gun in their home is breaking school policy. Sure you don't know...but if the home is the classroom then....?

Orr maybe just the room you are doing virtual in. 

Teachers DO have to report and I'm okay with that. Many issues with students and the school policies are beyond what a teacher individually would choose to punish a student for. Many many times teachers who were just reporting incidents in the classroom regretted it s it often ended up with the student later on in an altercation with the school officer or police or they are jailed. Like the 6-year old they carted to jail in cuffs without calling the parent.  However, I'm also a big proponent of getting to know your child's teacher until they know YOU on a first name basis. It matters.

School officials need to do a better job of discussing the language of the policy because its ridiculous to simply extend the school policy to the home. *Nuance is needed.*

The parents can possibly sue to have the suspension removed from the record but not much else??? IDK.


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## naturalgyrl5199 (Sep 25, 2020)

These are the specifics that black ppl need to be fighting tooth an nail about. 

The lack of nuance in the school system disproportionally affects black boys and girls and starts the school to prison pipeline...which is why the parents need to fight tooth and nail with the biggest civil rights lawyers they  can wrangle or afford and present a case on how this is a form o racial discrimination that will affect him adversely.


This is a 9 year old child who has a WEAPONS CHARGE on his record. Toy gun at home. Never brought to school. School policies are vey rote and mechanic. Its like jail, or a record...never having one is key. The parents are in for a long, stressful haul to protect this child.


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## Kanky (Sep 25, 2020)

These people are insane. They are completely lacking in common sense and the ability to reason and should not be allowed to have access to children at all.


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## Lylddlebit (Sep 25, 2020)

They are doing too much. Poor kid.    So many people  want to work inside the systems available but when people too much they put folks in a situation to fight back, protect, or remove their contributions to that system and do it their own way. I do think, in general,  people should restrict access to pretty much everything besides your face and the task at hand in virtual work and virtual school environments(there are exceptions ) since restricting access to most of your home in these situations removes ammunition (unintentional pun that I didn't realize until I typed it) for folks try it.  SMH there is so much that can be shared, learned and gleaned  when people are gracious about faux pas or simple mistakes.  I believe this was worthy of correction and clearer guidelines but not suspension.  I am not okay with virtual learning even having the impression they they can imposed upon or supersede the protection and boundaries established within my home for the benefit of my child.


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## frizzy (Sep 25, 2020)

This is infuriating!!!


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## NaturalEnigma (Sep 26, 2020)

I think their actions were extreme. They could have just told that little boy not to do that again and created a rule not to allow toys in visible view during class. What color was the teacher white? I can't see a black teacher reporting him.


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## Leeda.the.Paladin (Sep 26, 2020)

LA attorney general is looking into this









						Louisiana attorney general investigating case of school that suspended 4th grader over BB gun in virtual class
					

Ka Mauri Harrison was suspended for six days after he picked up a BB gun his younger brother tripped over and placed it in view of his computer camera.




					www.wwltv.com


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## yamilee21 (Sep 26, 2020)

So where are all the NRA and Second Amendment supporters? Why aren’t they rushing to show their support? (Of course, we already know why.)

All of these rules being enforced with regard to the remote/virtual learning - the no eating or drinking, wearing uniform, punishments for things you have in your own home - all of this is so indicative of the fact that school in the U.S. has very little to do with education, and is primarily focused on control and coercion. Doubly so for black students in particular. 

(That said, why *did* he have a BB gun lying around on the floor of his room? BB guns are not obvious toys like Nerf guns, and they can cause serious injury. There is some carelessness on the part of the parents here, though the situation certainly should not have escalated in this manner.)


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## Leeda.the.Paladin (Sep 26, 2020)

yamilee21 said:


> So where are all the NRA and Second Amendment supporters? Why aren’t they rushing to show their support? (Of course, we already know why.)
> 
> All of these rules being enforced with regard to the remote/virtual learning - the no eating or drinking, wearing uniform, punishments for things you have in your own home - all of this is so indicative of the fact that school in the U.S. has very little to do with education, and is primarily focused on control and coercion. Doubly so for black students in particular.
> 
> (That said, why *did* he have a BB gun lying around on the floor of his room? BB guns are not obvious toys like Nerf guns, and they can cause serious injury. There is some carelessness on the part of the parents here, though the situation certainly should not have escalated in this manner.)


In the south, at least in my neck of the woods, kids having BB guns in their rooms as casually as nerf guns Is nothing unusual. Not saying it’s right but BB guns are considered kiddie toys, especially when have the kids learn to shoot a real gun (usually hunting) by the time they are 12


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## Curly1908 (Oct 10, 2020)

yamilee21 said:


> So where are all the NRA and Second Amendment supporters? Why aren’t they rushing to show their support? (Of course, we already know why.)
> 
> All of these rules being enforced with regard to the remote/virtual learning - the no eating or drinking, wearing uniform, punishments for things you have in your own home - all of this is so indicative of the fact that school in the U.S. has very little to do with education, and is primarily focused on control and coercion. Doubly so for black students in particular.
> 
> (That said, why *did* he have a BB gun lying around on the floor of his room? BB guns are not obvious toys like Nerf guns, and they can cause serious injury. There is some carelessness on the part of the parents here, though the situation certainly should not have escalated in this manner.)



In the South and the Midwest, BB guns are around like water pistols.  When I was in middle school and high school, White boys would sometimes accidentally or on purpose bring them into school.  Some would get detention and others would simply get it taken away.  When I was a senior, a white boy accidentally left both a BB gun and a hunting rifle in his truck in the senior parking lot where it was discovered during a random drug search.  Nothing happened.  His dad was called to take the hunting rifle home.  And this was in the early 2000s.


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## kimpaur (Oct 10, 2020)

What can we do, besides sharing on social media? Does anyone know if they have a legal fund? This is absolutely unacceptable

eta:
Ladies! Good news, I’m seriously about to cry . Maybe this world  is changing. He still has to fight this in court,but it’s a start :

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.wd...-school-testifies-before-legislature/34302422

And even white pro gun sites are covering this story
https://www.google.com/amp/s/bearingarms.com/cam-e/2020/10/08/louisiana-kamauri-harrison-act/amp/

TLDR: The state of Louisiana has created  and unanimously voted in favor of passing the “Ka Mauri Harrison” act that will require the schools to write policies for online learning


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## naturalgyrl5199 (Oct 10, 2020)

kimpaur said:


> What can we do, besides sharing on social media? Does anyone know if they have a legal fund? This is absolutely unacceptable
> 
> eta:
> Ladies! Good news, I’m seriously about to cry. Maybe this world  is changing :
> ...


This is great news


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