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Summary of Question:	Kirpans Are Protected In Ca Schools
Category:	Other
Date Posted:	Friday, 8/24/2001 12:53 PM MDT

WJKK, WJKF:

For those young amritdhari Sikhs in California, you should know that your right to wear a kirpan in school in protected under a ruling by the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the 9th district. Several years ago, there was a case brought by three amrtidhari children in Livingston against the Livingston Unified School District. The school district suspended the students upon learning that they were wearing kirpans and were told that they could not return until they removed their kirpans. The ACLU took up the case on behalf of the family and argued that the wearing of the kirpan was in fact protected under the 1st amendment of the United States Constitution. After a couple of years of working its way through the courts, it made it to the 9th circuit court of appeals which has jurisdiction for most of the western United States. The justices ruled that the school district had in fact violated the children's 1st amendment right, and must allow the children to return to school provided that the kirpan was worn in a manner so as not to be disruptive the educational process. I would encourage anyone who may be facing a similiar situation to refer to the ACLU's website where you can find additional information by typing in "sikh" or "kirpan" in the Search option. Or you can visit the following link: http://www.aclu.org/news/n061297b.html for additional details.

If you are wearing a kirpan in school, you should try to be upfront with the school administrators as I found this to work the best for me. Educating them is key, but make sure you get your facts straight. If they challenge you, and threaten to suspend or expell you, don't cave in. You have help. While I do not agree with everything the ACLU does, they were a great asset to the Sikh community in California with the whole kirpan issue. I hope this information will be helpful to all young sikhs both here in California and throughout the United States.

WJKK,WJKF!

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THANK YOU Thank you for this information!
-DKK