Rowan Co. high school students may be able to carry pepper spray

ROWAN COUNTY, N.C. — High school students in Rowan County may be allowed to carry pepper spray or Mace to class next year.

The Rowan-Salisbury Board of Education debated the idea this week as they discussed which weapons were allowed on campus.

School leaders said the existing student safety policy did not address items like pepper spray.

They discussed adding specific language to ban those items, but decided to allow them during the 2016-2017 school year.

Some board members said pepper spray is a defensive tool that could help students.

Reporter Tina Terry spoke Wednesday to school board chair Joshua Wagner by phone.

"We began talking about high school students, particularly females, who would be obviously driving to and from school generally during daylight hours, but also after daylight hours with athletic events and different things, and we did think it made sense to prohibit pepper spray on school property," Wagner said.

Since that decision, leaders said they have received notice from staff members that they might need to revisit the topic. They plan to discuss it again on May 23.

Some parents told Channel 9 that they have mixed feelings about the change.

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