Lyon County implements a zero tolerance stance against school violence

LYON COUNTY, Nev. (KOLO) - Lyon County School District (LCSD), in partnership with Lyon County Sheriff’s Office (LCSO) announced this week, a new stance on how acts of violence on school property will be handled.

School grounds are not a place for immunity from criminal activity, so when criminal activity is afoot, even on school grounds we will conduct a criminal investigation.

Which is zero tolerance, meaning anyone over the age of 11, if found engaging in criminal activity, will be subject to the consequences of the criminal justice system.

“If certain kids think that they’re going to school to commit acts of violence, cause fights, challenge teachers and staff to fights, and cause problems for students and teachers who want to learn, and get something out of the educational process; those are the kids that we want to stop, that we want to conduct criminal investigations on,” said Sheriff Pope.

Example of crimes, include but are not limited to: inciting violence, assaulting another person, are found in possession of illegal items (weapons, drugs).

“The education piece is going to be very important; we don’t want to see kids getting arrested, we don’t want kids getting in trouble with the law, we want to make sure that they’re aware of the expectations and the potential consequences that they might face,” said Ryan Cross, Principal at Fernley High School.

In the coming weeks, administrators say students will be educated about state laws on school violence, the possible consequences, and the implementation of their zero tolerance policies.

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