Lehighton Area School District officials said Monday night student confidentiality laws prohibit them from going into detail about a recent disciplinary situation in one of its schools.

A district grandparent aired concerns during the public comment portion of Lehighton’s meeting over the handling of a recent incident, which he alleged involved death threats and a weapon brought on to school property.

David Parsons questioned district officials on “why a student who threatened bodily harm and even death, and later brought a weapon in to school, was allowed back in the classroom after a day or two of discipline.”

“I have multiple grandkids in the district and I’m concerned with the lack of discipline for this student,” Parsons said.

Lehighton Superintendent Dr. Christina Fish said she was aware of the incident Parsons was referring to, but called his description of events a “mis-characterization of the situation.”

“We can’t discuss individual student discipline,” Fish said. “I can tell you there is absolutely no lack of concern for student safety in this district.”

Speaking in general terms and not about this specific situation, Fish said that when any incident occurs and district officials are reviewing it, specific federal laws dictate how disciplinary actions can be handled, particularly if it involves a special education student.

“Our policy calls for a continuum of services,” Fish said. “We do look at each situation independently and there are some limitations and different parameters that come into play.”

While the district does have to play by certain rules when it comes to discipline, Parsons said that could leave other students at risk. Lehighton has policies dealing with what is classified as a weapon as well as varying levels of weapons. For example, there are different categories of knives described in those policies.

“I’m concerned the policy of LASD is not protecting our children when a child can bring a knife in to school a few days after he said he wants to kill someone,” Parsons said. “For me as a grandparent, it is difficult to know that my grandkids can be walking down hallway and be cut by a knife that you don’t call a knife.”

Fish, who multiple times told Parsons his version of the events in question were a mis-characterization, said there is no district policy that allows a weapon in school.

“Protecting the safety of our students is our primary concern,” she said.

Board President Joy Beers said the district’s governing body would agree to review its policies to make sure they best address student safety. For example, Beers said she was unaware there were different classifications of knives.

“The difficulty is that the board has to be careful when talking about specifics,” Beers told Parsons on Monday. “The board does not have all the details you have, but we will be working with the administration on a plan to look at these policies.”

Similarly, director Nathan Foeller said while there are “many different facets to the stories we hear,” student safety is of primary concern to everyone.

“I think we can take a look,” Foeller said, “and make sure the board is in agreement with how these situations are handled.”