The news that designs for 3D printed guns soon could be available is making some local parents nervous about the potential that a student may try to manufacture a gun on a school-owned 3D printer.

A federal judge last week stopped the release of blueprints for the plastic, 3D printed guns that would be undetectable by metal detectors and untraceable. The blueprints were from Defense Distributed, a company that had reached a settlement with the federal government allowing their release.

Monday, Colorado Attorney General Cynthia Coffman announced that she has joined 18 other states and the District of Columbia in a lawsuit against the federal government over the blueprints’ release.

“Because 3D printed firearms have few metal parts, can be acquired without a background check, and are virtually untraceable, printable firearms pose a unique security risk,” she said in a statement.

Though the release of the blueprints is on hold, media reports indicate that the blueprints were downloaded before the court’s injunction.

Boulder Valley School District spokesman Randy Barber said the district does not have a specific policy or guidance on use of its 3D printers. However, printing a 3D gun would be prohibited by existing policies that prohibit the use or possession of weapons.

He noted that 3D printers typically are located in community locations, such as school libraries and technology labs, where they are supervised by staff members.

He didn’t have information on the number of 3D printers in schools.

Anna Segur — who will have a fifth-grade son at Boulder’s Crest View Elementary — has lobbied the school district to tighten its technology policies She said wants the district to take a more pro-active approach.

Segur said one option would be for the district to keep 3D printers in more secure locations to better limit access.

“Especially given that Boulder raised the legal age to purchase guns to 21 years, there is a risk students may try to gunsmith their own weapons if they have ready and unsupervised access to the printers at school,” she said.

The neighboring St. Vrain Valley School District doesn’t have any information to share on the issue, spokeswoman Kerri McDermid said. The district does have 3D printers in some schools.

The Boulder Public Library also provides 3D printing services in its BLDG 61 makerspace, but staff members both review and print the projects.

Aimee Schumm, the eServices manager at the Boulder library, said library officials haven’t had any requests for 3D printed guns and wouldn’t print them because library policy prevents bringing in weapons.

“This would violate our rules of conduct,” she said.

Amy Bounds: 303-473-1341, boundsa@dailycamera.com or twitter.com/boundsa