HARVEY, La. — A 9-year-old Louisiana boy was reportedly suspended for bringing a BB gun into the classroom. 

But in these pandemic times, his classroom was actually his bedroom. 

What You Need To Know

  • A Louisiana fourth-grader was suspended and faced expulsion after his teacher noticed his BB gun in their virtual class

  • The boy picked up the unloaded weapon after his brother had tripped on it

  • The school cited the same weapons policy it uses for in-person classes

  • The boy's family is considering filing a lawsuit alleging the school violated their privacy and due process

Now the incident is setting the stage for a potential lawsuit. 

According to NOLA.com, Ka Mauri Harrison, a fourth-grader at Woodmere Elementary School in Harvey, was taking a test in virtual class on Sept. 11 when his younger brother walked into his room and tripped over a BB gun, which resembles a rifle.

Ka Mauri leaned away from his test, picked up the unloaded weapon and placed it next to his chair, in view of his computer’s webcam. His teacher noticed it and frantically tried to get the boy’s attention, according to the report. Ka Mauri, however, didn’t notice her because he had muted his computer and was focused on his test. Moments later, he was disconnected from the class, and he didn’t know why.

The school then called Ka Mauri’s parents to say he had been immediately suspended, citing “a violation of weapons in the classroom setting and a violation of the internet usage policy.”

"They are treating it as if he brought a weapon to school," Ka Mauri’s father, Nyron Harrison, told NOLA.com. "They told me he would be facing expulsion."

A Jefferson Parish Schools hearing officer this week upheld the suspension — which ended up being six days — but declined to expel Ka Mauri, who returned to virtual school Thursday. 

His family, however, has hired a lawyer and is arguing that the school district violated their privacy and that due process wasn’t followed. They’re worried that the suspension — especially because it involved a weapon — could prevent Ka Mauri from being accepted to a good high school. 

“This is an injustice. It’s a systemic failure,” Chelsea Cusimano, the family’s attorney, told The Washington Post. “They’re applying on-campus rules to these children, even though they’re learning virtually in their own homes.

“They need to take 20 minutes to think about children, who are already facing an uncertain future in the middle of pandemic,” Cusimano added. “This family chose to do virtual learning. What they didn’t choose is to be opened up to Jefferson Parish to look into their home and judge what happens there, such as allowing a kid to have a BB gun.”

Cusimano said that when she asked the school system for rules for distance learning, she was directed to its on-campus rules.

According to the attorney, Ka Mauri, the teacher and his classmates who were interviewed all say the boy did not point the gun at his camera or play with it during class.

In a statement to NOLA.com, a school system spokeswoman said: "We do not comment on individual student records. Regarding discipline, it is our policy that teachers and administrators may employ reasonable disciplinary and corrective measures to maintain order."

Ka Mauri’s case is not the first of its kind. Earlier this month, a 12-year-old Colorado boy was suspended for five days after he waved a neon green toy gun in virtual class. A New Jersey sixth-grader was suspended for a similar incident.