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District overreacted in punishing athlete for ammo in SUV, family says ...
Erin Zlomek
The Arizona Republic
Oct. 29, 2007 12:00 AM
Surprise high-school senior Kim Peters carries an Olympic
identification badge and an Arizona skeet-shooting members'
card, but neither got her out of a four-day suspension for
bringing shotgun shells onto school grounds.
The 17-year-old started competitive clay shooting her freshman
year at the urging of her mom and stepfather.
She has since won several trophies in the male-dominated sport
and in August was one of 18 athletes across the nation to attend
this year's Junior Olympic shooting camp in Colorado Springs, Colo. advertisement
But the hobby got Peters into trouble last week. Willow Canyon High School administrators disciplined Peters after
a security guard noticed two unopened boxes of the shells sitting in the back seat of the student's white sport
utility vehicle. There was no gun.
Peters said her 12-hours-a-week practice schedule got so hectic that she forgot to unload the ammunition from
her vehicle as she was running late for school Tuesday morning.
To beat the bell, she said she took a shortcut and parked in a visitors-only lot closest to the school. The guard
spotted the shells while ticketing her for parking in the non-student area.
Now, Peters fears the resulting punishment will cloud her permanent record as she applies to colleges. Her family
is fighting the Dysart Unified School District to get the offense, possession of a "dangerous instrument," expunged.
Administrators stand by their decision and rejected the family's first appeal last week.
"We can never comment on a specific situation with a student (due to privacy laws), but what I can say is that
whenever we are dealing with any infraction . . . our duties involve keeping students in a safe and secure
environment," Dysart Superintendent Gail Pletnick said.
Peters called her own actions "careless" but said she doesn't feel the punishment fits the crime.
"They searched me and they searched my car," she said.
Searchers discovered that Peters had cigarettes in the car, an offense also punishable by suspension. Though
Peters technically violated three school rules, she was punished only for the shells, according to a Dysart
disciplinary-incident form sent home with Peters.
Arguing that Peters proved she regularly uses the shells for sport, her father, Tony, asked administrators to swap
the ammunition offense for the cigarette offense. Tony said he felt anyone requesting his daughter's behavior
records might be more sympathetic to a "tobacco" violation vs. a "dangerous instrument" violation. He said he
feels the latter unfairly implies that his daughter brought a gun or bomb into the school building. When officials
refused to make the swap, Tony accused the district of overreacting and trying to make an inappropriate example
out of his daughter.
The Peterses also cite a 2007 federal education statute that explicitly excludes shotguns and shotgun shells from
being categorized as a destructive device because they are primarily used for sport. Despite the statute, districts
are free to take disciplinary actions where they see fit, according to the Arizona Department of Education.
Pletnick said that school shootings at Columbine High School and Virginia Tech have forced school districts
everywhere to re-evaluate and tighten their safety standards.
Peters said she is still trying to drum up support for her position and has started by contacting some of her
target-shooting mentors.
Zach Snow, a promotions coordinator with the National Shooting Sports Foundation, said other athletes have
reported similar complaints in the past, prompting professional shooters and the National Rifle Association to
come to their defense.
He said the most notable case was when a group of students was sent home for wearing foundation T-shirts,
which pictured a silhouette of a shooter holding a rifle. But Snow said to his knowledge, Peters' situation is the first
of its kind.
She is scheduled to return to school Tuesday.
Erin Zlomek
The Arizona Republic
Oct. 29, 2007 12:00 AM
Surprise high-school senior Kim Peters carries an Olympic
identification badge and an Arizona skeet-shooting members'
card, but neither got her out of a four-day suspension for
bringing shotgun shells onto school grounds.
The 17-year-old started competitive clay shooting her freshman
year at the urging of her mom and stepfather.
She has since won several trophies in the male-dominated sport
and in August was one of 18 athletes across the nation to attend
this year's Junior Olympic shooting camp in Colorado Springs, Colo. advertisement
But the hobby got Peters into trouble last week. Willow Canyon High School administrators disciplined Peters after
a security guard noticed two unopened boxes of the shells sitting in the back seat of the student's white sport
utility vehicle. There was no gun.
Peters said her 12-hours-a-week practice schedule got so hectic that she forgot to unload the ammunition from
her vehicle as she was running late for school Tuesday morning.
To beat the bell, she said she took a shortcut and parked in a visitors-only lot closest to the school. The guard
spotted the shells while ticketing her for parking in the non-student area.
Now, Peters fears the resulting punishment will cloud her permanent record as she applies to colleges. Her family
is fighting the Dysart Unified School District to get the offense, possession of a "dangerous instrument," expunged.
Administrators stand by their decision and rejected the family's first appeal last week.
"We can never comment on a specific situation with a student (due to privacy laws), but what I can say is that
whenever we are dealing with any infraction . . . our duties involve keeping students in a safe and secure
environment," Dysart Superintendent Gail Pletnick said.
Peters called her own actions "careless" but said she doesn't feel the punishment fits the crime.
"They searched me and they searched my car," she said.
Searchers discovered that Peters had cigarettes in the car, an offense also punishable by suspension. Though
Peters technically violated three school rules, she was punished only for the shells, according to a Dysart
disciplinary-incident form sent home with Peters.
Arguing that Peters proved she regularly uses the shells for sport, her father, Tony, asked administrators to swap
the ammunition offense for the cigarette offense. Tony said he felt anyone requesting his daughter's behavior
records might be more sympathetic to a "tobacco" violation vs. a "dangerous instrument" violation. He said he
feels the latter unfairly implies that his daughter brought a gun or bomb into the school building. When officials
refused to make the swap, Tony accused the district of overreacting and trying to make an inappropriate example
out of his daughter.
The Peterses also cite a 2007 federal education statute that explicitly excludes shotguns and shotgun shells from
being categorized as a destructive device because they are primarily used for sport. Despite the statute, districts
are free to take disciplinary actions where they see fit, according to the Arizona Department of Education.
Pletnick said that school shootings at Columbine High School and Virginia Tech have forced school districts
everywhere to re-evaluate and tighten their safety standards.
Peters said she is still trying to drum up support for her position and has started by contacting some of her
target-shooting mentors.
Zach Snow, a promotions coordinator with the National Shooting Sports Foundation, said other athletes have
reported similar complaints in the past, prompting professional shooters and the National Rifle Association to
come to their defense.
He said the most notable case was when a group of students was sent home for wearing foundation T-shirts,
which pictured a silhouette of a shooter holding a rifle. But Snow said to his knowledge, Peters' situation is the first
of its kind.
She is scheduled to return to school Tuesday.
Kim Peters, 17, practices at the Ben Avery Shooting Facility.
The Willow Canyon High School senior is a skeet shooter.
The Willow Canyon High School senior is a skeet shooter.
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| Keep up the great work on your Shooting Kim ... You are Always Welcome in camp with the Outdoor Envy Gals! |
| 17-Year-Old Future Olympian Disciplined For Shotgun Shells In Vehicle: In yet another case of over reactive, one-size-fits-all, "zero-tolerance" enforcement, Arizona high school senior and shotgun-shooting Olympic hopeful Kim Peters was recently charged by local school officials with "possession of a dangerous instrument" and subsequently suspended. |
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