Schools Expel 6,276 For Having Weapons

Preliminary figures show that 6,276 students in 29 states and the District of Columbia were expelled last year for bringing guns and other weapons to school, according to the Education Department.

Vice President Al Gore announced the findings Monday at a departmental conference on safe and drug-free schools, noting that the figures will grow when the other 21 states report later this year.

The statistics, covering the 1995-1996 school year, are the first collected under the 1994 Gun Free Schools Act. It requires states, in order to keep receiving federal dollars, to adopt laws mandating the expulsion of students who bring guns to school.