Columbia Board of Education approves policy clarifying what is considered a weapon

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Columbia Board of Education on Monday unanimously approved new language that clarifies what is a considered a weapon in its school district.

The meeting agenda says the Missouri School Boards’ Association updated its own policy to comply with Senate Bill 68, which passed last year and states districts must report all school safety incidents and credible safety threats for all incidents involving weapons.

The policy was last revised in April 2001, meeting documents say.

Banned weapons now include guns, a blackjack, concealable firearms, silencers, explosive weapons, gas guns, knives, knuckles, machine guns, projectile weapons, rifles, shotguns, spring guns and switchblade knives.

“Other prohibited weapons” includes items “used for or are readily capable of causing death or serious injury,” all knives (which includes pocketknives, anything “used or designed to be used to threaten or assault, whether for attack or defense,” anything made to resemble a weapon (unless it is authorized by a principal for an educational purpose)” and ammunition or parts of a banned weapon.