Schools Don’T Take Laser Pointers Lightly Gadgets Face Bans As Students Take Aim At Bus Drivers, Others

Bus driver Tom Griffey frequently gets an eyeful from the mirror perched above his seat - roughhousing students, the occasional obscene gesture.

But lately, Griffey sometimes sees something else when he checks the reflection - a blinding red flash of light.

“You look up to see what’s going on and it hits you in the eye,” said Griffey. “It’s getting to be a real major problem.”

Educators nationwide are dealing with a potentially dangerous new fad: laser pointers that beam a small red dot up to hundreds of feet away.

Intended as high-tech tools for lectures and presentations, the pointers are finding their way onto buses and playgrounds, where kids are using them to play tag or are flickering the dots on the bodies of fellow students.

Because the hand-held gadgets are so small, it can be hard to find the culprit sending the beam.

Experts say staring too long into the pointers can cause eye damage. Teachers say the pointers are both distracting and dangerous. They emit a dot that looks similar to the laser sight of some types of guns.

Last year, one Chicago suburb made it illegal for anyone under age 18 to buy or possess the gadgets. Violators face up to $750 in fines.

Seattle School District principals outlawed pointers last year and warned students they could face charges of disruptive conduct or assault for shining one at someone.

In Eastern Washington and Idaho, several districts have formally banned the tiny devices, calling them a safety risk.

Several Idaho school districts, including Boise’s, have banned the lasers as part of their “zero-tolerance” weapons policy.

Spokane School District 81 hasn’t gone that far - yet.

“There’s no official policy; it’s just something we desire not to have in the schools,” said district safety director Joe Madsen, who added that teachers have been told to confiscate the pointers like any other toy.

Officials in several other districts are revamping their policies to address lasers.

Cheney School District transportation coordinator Les Harris has started a collection of seized pointers in his desk. He’s considering asking the school board to ban them.

“I equate this with assault,” said Central Valley transportation supervisor Debra Holmes, who has heard from three district drivers hit with lasers this school year.

Central Valley is adding a section to next year’s student handbook to address the issue, said Mike Pearson, director of secondary education.

Drivers have filed reports on about six laser incidents to Laidlaw Transit, which buses students for several local districts, including District 81. Griffey and other drivers say at least 50 laser pointers have been confiscated and several other instances weren’t reported because they couldn’t find the source of the beam.

“Our drivers are concerned,” said Laidlaw Spokane branch manager Verna Landy. “It’s a large temptation to a child to shine it in the mirror. It can be momentarily blinding.”

The problem follows kids from buses into the classroom.

Students at Mead High School began flashing the red dots on the heads of referees during sporting events, said Assistant Principal Bruce Olgard.

After about 20 such incidents, the school banned the devices, he said.

Administrators have confiscated pointers at several Spokane elementary schools, including Adams on the South Hill and Madison and Indian Trail on the North Side.

Chase Middle School officials sent letters home to parents to alert them, as did Lakeside Middle School in Nine Mile Falls.

“Right before and after winter break, there was quite a deluge of them,” said Chase Assistant Principal Gary Neal.

That’s no coincidence, according to retailers who say the $10 to $20 pointers were a big seller this holiday season. “They were very, very hot,” said Brent Sipe, manager of the North Division Hastings. “We ordered a lot before Christmas, and now we only have one left.”

Kids and adults alike were snatching them up, he said.

Sheriff’s spokesman Dave Reagan said even grown-ups are misusing the pointers. Deputies have heard reports of Kaiser strikers shining them on replacement workers.

And one driver targeted another’s rearview mirror on Interstate 90 just last week, causing a fight, Reagan said.

“They can’t be good for anything other than trouble, as far as I can tell,” said Sipe.

Experts differ on exactly how much trouble the lasers can cause. “Actual physical eye injury is very unlikely,” said Karl Hejlik of the Florida-based Laser Institute of America.

While some ophthalmologists say there is a possibility of retinal damage, the laser would have to be shined directly in someone’s eye for at least 10 seconds, Hejlik said.

That could result in permanently blurred vision or a small blind spot.

Most lasers include printed messages on the packaging warning against looking into the pointer.

Pat Doten teaches Laidlaw drivers to handle their most unruly passengers. She said in the last year, two drivers have complained of eye discomfort after being zapped by students. “One of them, it’s still bothering him,” Doten said.

A more immediate safety concern, said Hejlik, is distracting drivers with the red beam. “If you’re going 50 mph down the highway and get startled by a red dot, there is the possibility of problems,” he said.

The pointers have increased in popularity in the last year as they’ve gotten smaller and cheaper.

“They’ve become so inexpensive that any 12-year-old can afford one with two weeks’ allowance,” said Hejlik.

Some models are only three inches long, designed to fit on a key chain. Newer ones include interchangeable caps that produce lasers shaped like peace signs or hands.

But while they may look like toys, they’re not, Hejlik said. “There’s really no reason for kids to run around with them unsupervised.”