Students in Baltimore City who set fires or detonate explosives on public school property should never be allowed back, said Chief Executive Officer Andres Alonso.
After two soda bottle bombs exploded at Patterson High School Tuesday, Alonso sent a letter home to families, telling them that he would recommend the permanent exclusion of any student found guilty of endangering others by intentionally setting a fire or detonating an explosive.
“This is a painful decision, because there is nothing that I care about as much as having every single child in Baltimore City at home, learning in one of our schools,” Alonso wrote. “But it’s a necessary decision given the potential harm to life of such irresponsible and criminal action.”
If a student appeals Alonso’s decision, the school board will have the final say.
School policy allows students to be expelled for any length of time, but permanent expulsion is not common.
Baltimore police arrested two students in relation to the explosions at Patterson, which closed the school early and sent one officer to the hospital.
