Ka Mauri Harrison, a fourth grader at Woodmere Elementary in Harvey, was taking a virtual class in his bedroom when his younger brother came into the room and tripped over a BB gun.
The 9-year-old leaned away from his English test, grabbed the unloaded weapon and put it next to his chair, away from his brother but in view of the computer camera that showed the scene to his teacher and classmates.
By the end of the day, he was facing suspension from school — and possible expulsion.
Citing a policy based on in-class instruction that administrators have relied on during the coronavirus pandemic, officials from the Jefferson Parish Public school system suspended Ka Mauri for six days because he handled the BB gun during the virtual class, documents show.
On Tuesday, a school-system hearing officer upheld the suspension, which stemmed from a Sept. 11 virtual lesson. Ka Mauri has been out of school ever since, but will be able to return to school Thursday. In upholding the suspension, the hearing officer opted not to expel him, according to a written copy of the decision.
Ka Mauri's family say their privacy rights were violated and that he was not given due process by the school system. An appeal of the hearing officer's decision was rejected, and the family is now considering filing a lawsuit in state court.
"It's not ending here," said Chelsea Cusimano, the attorney hired by the family. "It's our intent to explore further...
