BY MIRIAM SMITH
The Cincinnati Enquirer
LEBANON -- It doesn't matter whether it was bought at Toys R Us or a gun-and-knife show.
Lebanon students brandishing toy guns -- even something as simple as a real-looking squirt gun -- in a threatening way face the same penalties as those carrying real firearms.
On Monday, the Lebanon City Schools Board of Education revised its dangerous weapons policy to include "look-alike" guns, said Carole Dorn, district spokeswoman.
Students will be in violation of the new policy if they display or boast about the gun -- even if it cannot fire a bullet -- in a threatening way on school property, at school-sponsored activities or on a school bus, Ms. Dorn said.
"What this is really is a proactive measure," she said. "We're serious about having our schools safe for learning. We're going to take any kind of threats very seriously."
Students who violate the policy face expulsion of up to one year. The matter would be turned over to police and the student could face criminal prosecution, Ms. Dorn said.
State and federal laws require every Ohio school district to have a weapons policy, said Barb Murphy, the Safe and Drug Free Schools Consultant for the Ohio Department of Education.
A state law was passed last spring to set "permissive language" for look-alike weapons, but Ms. Dorn said she did not think many other districts have adopted it yet.
LeeAnne Rogers, spokeswoman for the Ohio Department of Education, said school shootings that gained national attention last spring have stepped up the immediacy for weapons policies.
"I think school safety is a continuing concern, but this has brought it to the front page since everybody's conscious of it," Ms. Rogers said.
Orville Robinson, vice president of the Lebanon school board, said the policy is a necessary precaution.
"This is something that can happen anywhere in America. It could happen in our schools," Mr. Robinson said.
