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By Peg McNichol and Nancy Kelsey | Email the authors | February 11, 2011

Plymouth-Canton Community School’s new guidelines for baptized Sikh students wearing a religious sword to school has the attention of Northville’s school officials.

Both districts have had to address the issue of the dull-bladed item, called a kirpan, because on the surface it is in direct conflict with their zero-tolerance policies on weapons in school. But courts in Ohio, New York and California have ruled it cannot be considered a weapon, despite its looks, because it is an article of faith.

Northville school board president Joan Wadsworth said her distict has no formal policy but would review incidents on a case-by-case basis.

"We've been following what's going on in Plymouth-Canton," she said.

Plymouth-Canton officials amended its weapons policy after a Bentley Elementary fourth grader's kirpan fell out of his clothes onto a playground in December. Plymouth-Canton's compromise stipulates that a kirpan blade must be 2 ¼ inches or shorter and kept in its sheath. In addition, the entire item cannot be worn in a visible manner – something the Sikh faith also requires – but the compromise includes sewing it into the clothing. If it does become visible for any reason, the student will no longer be allowed to wear it to school, according to the new policy.

When a Northville student was sent to the principal's office in April for wearing a kirpan to school, officials at Meads Mill Middle School suspended the boy for three days, said his mother, Amarjeet Kaur, 47, of Northville. The school then came up with the same resolution Plymouth-Canton did last month – to allow the student to wear the item if it were sewn in his clothes. But the district doesn't plan to amend its policy just yet.

Northville Public Schools superintendent Leonard Rezmierski said that it was the only kirpan case he could recall in his many years with the district.

While these instances may be rare, Art Przybylowicz, an attorney for the Michigan Education Association said other schools have had to address similar issues of students wearing weapon-like cultural or relgious symbols.

Przybylowicz said he recalled a Holt student being expelled from school for wearing a full-dress Scottish kilt, which included a ceremonial dagger called a skean dhu to prom in 2001.

In reponse to incidents, area Sikhs have hosted forums and open houses to help educate the community.

About 3,000 practicing Sikhs live in Michigan with an estimated 2,500 living in the Metro Detroit area. The largest Sikh house of worship, called a gurdwara, is in Canton: Gurdwara Sahib Singh Sabha of Michigan.

Kaur said the more people know about the Sikh religion the better, because people fear what they do not understand.

The kirpan is dull-bladed, kept in a sheath and worn beneath the clothes as a reminder to devout Sikhs to be peaceful and protect the weak. It is one of five religious items worn by baptized Sikhs.

“He wrote out an explanation of the five items he wears and why,” Kaur said of her son's attempt to educate school officials. “Everyone was very respectful.”

Source: http://northville.patch.com/articles/kirpans-in-class-a-new-issue-in-schools