After Bentley Elementary Incident, Plymouth-Canton Schools Reviews Policy on Lookalike Weapons

Plymouth-Canton School District officials are consulting with an attorney on how to address a Thursday incident at .

During a school recess and what district spokesman Frank Ruggirello described as "roughhousing on the playground," an item called a kirpan fell out of a fourth-grade boy's clothes. A kirpan is a Sikh religious artifact referred to as a sword of mercy, though it is not considered a weapon.

After the incident, Bentley Elementary School Principal Jerry Meier met with the boy and his parents.

Meier "examined it and it was determined to be religious," Ruggirello said. "It does not have sharp edges. It is a religious artifact."

Still, the district's policy bars items that look like weapons. Specifically, the school district's policy online says the rules "encompass such actions as look-alike items, false fire alarms, bomb threats, or intentional calls to falsely report a dangerous condition."

Ruggirello said the item was not being used in any way when the incident occurred. Kirpans are often worn under the clothes, at the waist or on a chain around the neck.

Now the district is seeking legal guidance for how to address the situation.

Ruggirello said the boy was not suspended, nor will he be barred from wearing the kirpan while the matter is being investigated.

"As a district, we've been making a lot of effort to embrace diversity and give staff more training on how to deal with differences," Ruggirello said. "We're going to try to be as sensitive to this as we can – to both the parents of this boy and the families of other children."

Sue Dowswell, at the school after a Girl Scout event on Saturday, said two of her children attend Bentley, but they are not in fourth grade. She was unaware of the incident until seeing a television camera crew in front of the school at 6 a.m. Saturday.

Dowswell said she doesn't see the kirpan as a weapon, but she would like to know the school district's policy on the issue. And, she said, the district's policy should be one sensitive to both Sikh and non-Sikh parents and their children.

Several members at the , the Sikh's house of worship in Canton, emphasized that a kirpan is strictly a religious item. It is worn by many but not all Sikh men and women.

"It's 100 percent religious," said Gurdwara member Jarnail Singh on Saturday afternoon. "Like the Muslim and the Christian, (Sikhism) is a religion."

Sikh Facts

The Sikh religion was founded more than 400 years ago and is the fifth largest religion in the world, with nearly 20 million followers.

Sikhs practice daily prayer and use the five kakars, sometimes simply called the five Ks, articles worn on the body, as a constant reminder of fidelity to God.

The five kakars are:
Kesh: Uncut hair. Sikhs view all parts of the body as a gift from God and do not alter them.
Kanga: A comb worn in the hair symbolizing a clean mind and body.
Kirpan: Ceremonial knife presented as part of a baptismal rite. Such Sikhs are barred from drinking, smoking, using drugs and eating meat. The kirpan symbolizes living a life of integrity and protecting the weak and defenseless, and is referred to by some Sikhs as similar to the cross worn by Christians.
Kachera: White undergarments tied with a string, a symbol of chastity or monogamy and a reminder to avoid lust.
Kara: A steel bracelet worn on the right wrist as a reminder of God's unending being – its movement on the wrist is a reminder to make choices consistent with God's will.