CLAY COUNTY, Fla. — Clay County School District Police have a new warning about weapons on school property. They say they are seeing an increase in students bringing knives to school.
Regardless of their size and criminal intent, knives are considered weapons and bringing one to school comes with serious consequences. Students of any age can face criminal charges and expulsion just for possession.
"I've seen a lot of smaller children bringing knives to school," Clay County Schools Police Chief Kenneth Wagner said.
These are just a few examples of knives brought to school by younger students and seized by Clay County School District officers this school year.
"I've seen anything from little knives to these things that looks like a whip that would go on a motorcycle that had a small knife on it," Wagner said.
Anyone besides a law enforcement officer found to have a weapon at school, at a school event, on a bus, or within a certain distance from school property faces expulsion for up to one year and a third-degree felony. Wagner says knives considered as weapons include swords, kitchen knives, razor blades, or box cutters.
Items like a common pocketknife, plastic utensils or blunt-bladed knives are exempted from the definition of Florida School Weapons. This means a student won't be charged but can still be expelled from school.
"That's not only a problem for the learning of that child, but the parents are impacted by that," Wagner said.
Wagner says a parent cannot be charged if their child is found possessing a knife, but they can be charged if their student has a firearm and harms someone.
"We would like parents to talk to their children and check their things that they don't bring a little knife. It's okay to have a knife outside of school but bringing that knife (on campus) has serious consequences to a child. Florida has a zero tolerance for having weapons on school grounds," Wagner said.
Wagner says it’s important for parents to talk to their children about this and to check their backpacks before they leave for school. He says some Clay County schools have metal detectors, but the district is actively looking for additional technology to assist in weapons detection.