A Colorado public school suspended a 5-year-old girl from kindergarten this week after she brought a plastic toy bubble gun to school.
The student’s mother Emma told a local Fox station that she was shocked when school officials called and told her she needed to take her daughter home.
"I don't want her to miss out on class. That's a silly reason not to go to school," she said. "If they had contacted me and said can you make sure this doesn’t happen again, we just want you to be aware, I think that would have been a more appropriate way to handle the situation. ‘Could we have a warning?’ It blows bubbles."
Southeast Elementary School defended its decision in a statement Tuesday, contending that the punishment was consistent with similar occurrences where students have faced a day-long suspension after bringing fake guns to school.
"The bringing of weapons, real or facsimile, to our schools by students can not only create a potential safety concern but also cause a distraction for our students in the learning process," officials said. "Our schools, particularly Southeast because of past instances with students bringing fake weapons to school, make a point of asking parents to be partners in making sure students are not bringing these items to school. This includes asking parents to check backpacks."
Emma said her daughter packed the toy in her backpack without her knowledge. Had she known, she said she wouldn’t have let her daughter bring it to school.
Still, she told the local station that officials need to use common sense when enforcing its rules.
"What bugs me is this is going to be something they can refer to if we have any issues in the future which I don't foresee, but it's always going to be lingering there in her school file," Emma said.
Last year, the Maryland State Board of Education decided to uphold the two-day suspension of a 7-year-old boy who nibbled his Pop-Tart into the shape of a gun.