Explore The NRA Universe Of Websites

APPEARS IN News Second Amendment

“F” Stands for Fail: School Jeopardizes Student’s Future for Possession of Squirt Gun

Friday, April 21, 2017

“F” Stands for Fail: School Jeopardizes Student’s Future for Possession of Squirt Gun

Public education’s long-running “zero tolerance” war against anything that suggests the idea of a firearm (including, for example, clothing, gestures, toys, food, computer images, and favorable opinions of self-defense) has claimed another victim. This time it was 16-year-old Sarah Allena Nichols, formerly a student at Prattville High School in Autauga County, Alabama, and now serving a year’s expulsion from Autauga County schools, school property, and any school-sponsored function.

Her “offense” arose from a squirt gun recovered from her car. 

The girl’s mother, Tara Herring, told the Montgomery County Advertiser that “Laney” (as she’s known to family and friends) had attended Autauga County Schools since second grade. The plan, Herring said, had been for Laney to “graduate from Prattville High and then go to college.” 

That plan became substantially more complicated when the Autauga County Board of Education in February increased what was initially a 10-day suspension to the current one-year expulsion. Laney is now being homeschooled and is seeking acceptance at a local private academy. “We loved the schools in Prattville,” her mother said. “But we have lost all confidence in the school system after this.”

Autauga County Schools Superintendent Spence Agee told the Advertiser that he would not comment on the case. Herring, however, told the paper the expulsion arose from a Jan. 27 incident in which a male student handed Laney a squirt gun after class, which she then put in a backpack and eventually moved to her car. Several days later, a student reported to school officials that Laney had been in school with a gun. Surveillance cameras from the school revealed Laney in possession of the squirt gun but did not capture the student who gave it to her. Laney admitted the squirt gun was in her car when confronted by school personnel.

Laney’s mother does not blame the student who reported the incident and said she “did what she was supposed to do” in alerting school authorities. She also does not absolve her daughter of culpability for her role in creating the misunderstanding. “We admit what she did was wrong,” Herring told the Advertiser. She added, “I was hoping this could be a teachable moment for her. We’re not saying she should not have been punished.”

But Herring also strongly believes the school board overreacted by imposing the one-year expulsion, considering the harmlessness of the incident and the expulsion’s possible long-term collateral effects on Laney’s future educational and employment opportunities. “[A]fter the principal and school officials knew it was a water gun, things should never have progressed this far,” Herring said.

Media reports do not suggest that Laney intentionally threatened anyone with the squirt gun or brandished it in a menacing matter. Needless to say, no injuries were reported.

Laney’s parents have hired legal counsel in an attempt to have the expulsion stricken from her record. The lawyer claimed in a letter to the school that the male student involved in the event had been disciplined for bringing a water gun to school before, although he was never expelled. 

As unfortunate as Laney’s situation is, it is hardly unique. Water guns, no matter what their appearance, are routinely treated by public schools as if they were a violation of school policies originally aimed at actual firearms. A seven-year-old second grader, for example, faced expulsion last year in Portsmouth, Virginia for having unrealistic and brightly colored Nerf and squirt guns in his pockets. 

There is no serious argument that incidents like this have anything to do with legitimate safety concerns. And while schools have the authority and duty to maintain order, jeopardizing a student’s future over harmless, ordinary childhood behavior is counterproductive and requires students to conform to irrational standards some of them are simply too young to comprehend. Meanwhile, those who are old enough to understand what is expected of them can only regard the demands as arbitrary and ridiculous. 

It may be that that the Autauga County School Board has information that the local press does not that paints a more complete picture of what really occurred and that somehow justifies Laney’s expulsion.

But we doubt it. We’ve seen similar overreactions far too many times to give school officials the benefit of the doubt.

So unless and until further facts come to light, we’re assigning the school board an “F” for common sense, an “F” for exercise of discretion, and an “F” for transparency.

TRENDING NOW
Third Circuit Strikes Some New Jersey Carry Restrictions in NRA Case

Thursday, September 11, 2025

Third Circuit Strikes Some New Jersey Carry Restrictions in NRA Case

Yesterday, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals issued an opinion in Siegel v. Platkin, striking some of the carry restrictions New Jersey enacted in response to the NRA’s landmark Supreme Court victory, New York State Rifle & ...

Gun Control “Journalist” Says the Quiet Part Out Loud

News  

Monday, September 8, 2025

Gun Control “Journalist” Says the Quiet Part Out Loud

Pure gun control. As in disarmament and banning of firearms. It’s rare that anti-gunners get straight to the exact point that we have been warning of for decades. 

Due Process: The Backbone of Legal Legitimacy

News  

Monday, September 8, 2025

Due Process: The Backbone of Legal Legitimacy

Close observers of the gun debate often see references to due process.

The Desperate Deflection to the “Red State Murder Problem”

News  

Monday, September 8, 2025

The Desperate Deflection to the “Red State Murder Problem”

California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) may have thought he had scored against President Donald Trump in a recent war of words over rampant crime and the deployment of federal law enforcement agents to Democratic-led cities

NRA Files Amicus Brief Urging SCOTUS to Hear Challenge to Washington’s Magazine Ban

Monday, September 8, 2025

NRA Files Amicus Brief Urging SCOTUS to Hear Challenge to Washington’s Magazine Ban

Today, the National Rifle Association filed an amicus brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to grant certiorari in a case challenging Washington State’s ban on firearm magazines that hold more than 10 rounds.

Illinois: Governor Signs Mandatory Firearm Storage Law

Wednesday, September 3, 2025

Illinois: Governor Signs Mandatory Firearm Storage Law

Earlier this month, Governor JB Pritzker signed Senate Bill 8 into law. This legislation imposes new mandatory firearm storage requirements on law-abiding gun owners.  

Update: North Carolina House Reschedules Veto Override Vote

Tuesday, August 26, 2025

Update: North Carolina House Reschedules Veto Override Vote

Today, the House rescheduled the veto override vote on Senate Bill 50, Freedom to Carry NC, to Monday, September 22. 

Minnesota: Senate Gun Violence Prevention Working Group Meeting on Monday

Friday, September 12, 2025

Minnesota: Senate Gun Violence Prevention Working Group Meeting on Monday

On Monday, September 15th, the Minnesota Senate will hold a special working group on "gun violence prevention."

Supreme Court Review Sought in NRA-Backed Challenge to California’s Magazine Ban

Friday, August 15, 2025

Supreme Court Review Sought in NRA-Backed Challenge to California’s Magazine Ban

Today, a Petition for Certiorari was filed asking the U.S. Supreme Court to hear Duncan v. Bonta, a case—backed by the National Rifle Association and California Rifle & Pistol Association—challenging California’s prohibition on magazines capable of holding ...

Washington Post Admits that Anti-gun Lawfare “Cannot be the Solution” to Crime

News  

Monday, March 17, 2025

Washington Post Admits that Anti-gun Lawfare “Cannot be the Solution” to Crime

In a turnabout worthy of Invasion of the Body Snatchers, The Washington Post (WAPO) published an editorial last Tuesday criticizing the gun control movement for ignoring the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA) and pursuing its agenda in ...

MORE TRENDING +
LESS TRENDING -

More Like This From Around The NRA

NRA ILA

Established in 1975, the Institute for Legislative Action (ILA) is the "lobbying" arm of the National Rifle Association of America. ILA is responsible for preserving the right of all law-abiding individuals in the legislative, political, and legal arenas, to purchase, possess and use firearms for legitimate purposes as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.