Lawsuit Against DOE Questions Suspension Of Student For Bringing A Nerf Gun To School
Stevenson Middle School initially suspended nine students in January for having toy guns that were considered a threat to campus safety.
A Honolulu mother says the Hawaii Department of Education wrongly suspended her eighth-grade son for possessing a toy gun on campus and then failed to provide academic support after he missed a month of classes at Stevenson Middle School, according to a lawsuit filed Monday.
The case reflects long-standing concerns that suspensions have long-lasting consequences for student behavior and academic achievement.
For nearly a decade, Hawaii school leaders have searched for ways to lower the state鈥檚 suspension rate. Past studies have found that schools are more likely to suspend Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders compared to their Asian American and white peers. Local advocates have called for the DOE to find alternative options to school suspensions, which can lead to social isolation and reduced learning time.
In the 2022-23 school year, 4% of Hawaii DOE students were suspended. Unlike several other states, Hawaii does not have a cap on the number of days a student can be suspended.
Heather McVay says her son and his eight classmates were suspended from Stevenson Middle School in early January for having gel guns on campus the day before winter break. Her son had received the “Nerf gun” as a Christmas present from a friend, McVay said, but he didn鈥檛 open the gift until he was leaving campus.
鈥淭here was no threat of any kind,鈥 McVay said in an interview.
DOE spokesperson Nanea Ching said the department won鈥檛 comment on pending litigation.
Under , students may be expelled from school for at least a year for possessing firearms, including BB or paintball guns, on DOE campuses. Stevenson Middle School considered the gel guns firearms and initially suspended McVay鈥檚 son and his classmates for a year.
鈥淕el guns typically fire 7-8mm hydrated gel polymer ball projectiles at a high rate, velocity and range,鈥 Stevenson Principal Laurie Luczak said in a letter to families in January. 鈥淎lthough they are marketed as toys, the delivery of the projectiles is similar to paintball guns and can cause serious eye injuries.鈥
In the letter, Luczak added that one of the students who received the toy gun in December had struck another student with the gel pod after school.
In the 2022-23 school year, 26 DOE students were dismissed for bringing a firearm onto campus.
Because McVay鈥檚 son never used his gel gun on campus, DOE administrators later decided that his suspension only merited 18 days. He ultimately stayed home from early January to Feb. 1 but fell behind in his classes during that time.
While school officials told McVay she could pick up some of her son鈥檚 work during his suspension, it was impossible for him to keep up with his peers when many of the assignments required him to attend classes in-person or collaborate with other students, she said. When he returned to school in February, McVay added, he was failing two of his classes, and teachers were unwilling to provide extra accommodations or time so he could complete the work he had missed.
Eric Seitz, McVay鈥檚 lawyer, said the student began eighth grade with all A’s but ended the year with mostly B’s and C’s.
鈥淗e鈥檚 starting high school under a cloud,鈥 Seitz said, adding that the student has struggled with high levels of anxiety and stress since the incident.
State law requires DOE complex area superintendents to provide alternative forms of instruction if students are suspended for more than 10 days.
But policies don鈥檛 always translate to necessary services for students, said Greta Colombi, a consultant for the . States vary in how much academic support they require schools to provide suspended students, Colombi added.
For example, New York requires schools to provide alternative forms of instruction for the entirety of students鈥 suspension time. Beginning in 2019, California began requiring schools to provide suspended students with homework assignments if their parents requested the work and they were out of school for two or more days.
In 2020, Hawaii legislators that would have asked the DOE to eliminate suspensions in elementary schools and set a maximum of 10 suspension days for middle and high schoolers. The resolution failed, but DOE Deputy Superintendent Heidi Armstrong said last summer that Hawaii schools were continuing to search for alternatives to suspension.
The number of suspensions in the department dropped by nearly 1,000 from 2013 to 2023.
The lawsuit seeks to have the disciplinary actions against McVay’s son declared unconstitutional and his record cleared. She’s also seeking monetary damages.
A hearing date for McVay鈥檚 case has not yet been scheduled.
Civil Beat鈥檚 education reporting is supported by a grant from Chamberlin Family Philanthropy.
