| A Detroit-area school district is reversing a ban on Sikh students from wearing a small, religious dagger to school.
The Plymouth-Canton Community Schools had imposed the ban in December after a fourth-grader at BentleyElementary School was found with a dull kirpan. However after criticism from Sikh groups and legal reviews, the district amended its policy to allow Sikh studentsto carry the kirpan. The policy includes several restrictions for safety reasons:
- Any kirpan worn at school should be sewn inside a sheath in such a way that the blade cannot be removed from the sheath.
- The blade of the kirpan is restricted in length to no more than two and one-fourth inches. This would take the object outside the scope of the Revised School Code’s definition of a knife constituting a dangerous weapon.
- The blade of the kirpan must be dull.
- The kirpan should not be worn on the outside of the clothing and should not be visible in any way.
|
