Dist. 203 won't expel student found with weapons

A Lincoln Junior High student who brought a knife to school along with a glove with scissor blades sewn into the knuckles will not be expelled.

Naperville Unit District 203 Superintendent Mark Mitrovich said school board members discussed the boy's case behind closed doors Monday and decided against expelling him.

Several alternative programs the district is involved in, such as the Abraxas/Bridge Program, gave them latitude to seek alternative placement in lieu of an expulsion.

Mitrovich said the board has not decided which program the student will be enrolled in.

According to the district's Web site, the Abraxas/Bridge program is an off-campus, day-school setting for general and special education high school students who need an alternative environment to succeed. Housed in a separate wing at Woodridge Interventions, the individualized, instructional setting also provides social emotional and therapeutic support, assisting students to more quickly transition back to a regular school setting.

"The long-term goal is, depending on the severity of what happens, the board is going to look for other options that protect the safety of all students and provide for their educational program," Mitrovich said. "Yet we recognize the fact that there are disciplinary issues that need to be resolved."

The student was charged with misdemeanor unlawful use of a weapon March 3 after staff members found the glove and knife in his locker.

The boy was taken to the police department, processed and turned over to his parents.

The charges against the boy pertain to the bladed glove, not the knife. Police would have had to prove intent to commit a crime in order to charge him in relation to the knife.

Police handled the incident with the parents instead of sending it to the juvenile court system.

District 203 policies state the school board can expel a student for up to two years for violating its weapons policies.