By Lee Williams
SAF Investigative Journalism Project
Florida Carry, Inc., has filed a lawsuit against the Hillsboro County School District over its decision to suspend a high school student identified in their lawsuit only as “J.S.,” who officials claim brought three spent shell casings into one of their schools.
According to the pro-gun group’s lawsuit, school officials learned of the incident via a message sent to them on the FortifyFL app – a “suspicious activity” reporting tool that allows parents or other students to relay information to “appropriate law enforcement agencies and school officials.”
The school principal told a Hillsborough County Deputy Sheriff working at the school about the FortifyFL message. The deputy sheriff then searched J.S.’s backpack and conducted a pat down of the young student at around 8 a.m., November 21.
The deputy sheriff told school officials that J.S. had committed no crime by possessing spent shell casings. The youth, the deputy said, had done nothing wrong. However, the principal ignored the deputy’s claims and called the student’s parents, who arrived about 40 minutes later. The parents were told to take their child home and wait for a phone call.
Van Ayres, the superintendent of Schools for Hillsborough County Public Schools – the seventh largest school system in the county – was told of the incident. According to his website, Ayers serves on a dozen local boards and civic groups. He is a named defendant in the lawsuit.
The principal called J.S.’s parents later that afternoon and told them their child was going to be suspended.
“The Principal stated that because she ‘went to bat for J.S.,’ J.S. was being punished with a five day suspension,” the lawsuit states.
There was no indication the student had threatened anyone, or that he had somehow intended to use the spent shell casings as a weapon. Instead, the student’s suspension was based on unwritten policies in play at the Hillsborough County Public Schools.
Florida law
Unlike many of the blue states, Florida state law does not prohibit the possession of spent shell casings on school property or within a school safety zone. Firearms and weapons are clearly defined under state law, too. In fact, the school district is prohibited from altering the definitions of ammunition, firearms, weapons or ammunition components by state law.
However, the school district has its own rules, at least for now. It prohibits ammunition on school property, as well as clothing and jewelry that suggest or imply weapons and/or ammunition.
According to the Florida Carry lawsuit, school officials committed a host of legal errors:
- Defining an individual ammunition component as “ammunition”
- Defining or treating ammunition as a “weapon”
- Defining or treating ammunition components as a “weapon”
- A policy prohibiting the possession of “ammunition” on school property or in a school safety zone
- A policy prohibiting the possession of an ammunition component on school property
- A policy of disciplining students for lawful possession of an ammunition component on school property
- A policy of disciplining students for possessing ammunition on school property
These bad policies were enforced in violation of state law, Sec. 790.33, Fla. Stat.
The lawsuit
Florida Carry filed a lawsuit December 1 against the Hillsborough County School Board, the school district and Ayers, both individually and in his official capacity.
“Florida Carry’s purpose is to advance the fundamental civil right of all Floridians to keep and bear arms for self-defense as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution and the Constitution of Florida’s Declaration of Rights, including illegal attempts to punish the lawful possession of ammunition and ammunition components, or to redefine legal terms related to the possession and use of firearms and ammunition,” the lawsuit states.
Florida Carry wants the court to find that the Hillsborough County School Board violated state law and are liable for damages to the plaintiffs. They want the school district to repeal its illegal policies. However, most of their complaint deals with J.S.’s wants and needs.
“J.S. further requests that the school district be enjoined from enforcing or making any record of his suspension and requiring the school to provide J.S. a reasonable opportunity to complete all missed assignments, course work, and examinations caused by the J.S.’s illegal suspension, and requiring the district to remove and record that J.S. missed school attendance as a result of the illegal suspension,” the lawsuit states.
Since Ayers is the “appointed agency head,” Florida Carry want him to pay a fine of not more than $5,000. If the school district and/or Ayers disagree, “Plaintiff demands trial by jury on all issues so triable.”
The lawsuit was written and filed by Eric J. Friday, who serves as Florida Carry’s general counsel.
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