Pawnee school board trims suspension for 9th-grade student after due-process hearing

The Board of Education of Pawnee Independent School District voted Jan. 22, 2026, to partially modify the out-of-school suspension of a ninth-grade student following a special-session due-process hearing at the Pawnee High School Media Center. The motion to reduce the suspension passed 3–2 after deliberations held in executive session.

Board records show the student was suspended on Dec. 16, 2025, after a report that a firearm had been spotted inside the vehicle the student drove to campus on Dec. 15, 2025. Superintendent Stacy Womack informed the Pawnee Police Department and an investigation followed. Meeting minutes record that the student admitted to driving the vehicle with a weapon inside but stated they borrowed the vehicle and did not know there was a firearm inside.

The board adopted written findings of fact before voting. Those findings say the student did not discharge or threaten to use the firearm and that Oklahoma law requires suspension of a student found in possession of a firearm on school property unless modified by the district superintendent. On the motion passed Jan. 22, the board directed Superintendent Womack to modify the suspension so the student would remain out of school until March 22, 2026, return to school March 23 and be placed in In-School Suspension through the end of the school year, May 15, 2026.

The motion to modify the suspension was made by Mr. John Henry and seconded by Mrs. Savannah Waters. The roll call was Yes: Mrs. Tiffany Higgins, Mrs. Savannah Waters, Mr. John Henry; No: Mr. Gary Vance, Mrs. Carol Rapp. The meeting adjourned at 1:28 p.m.