"A typical set of velocity for sanctioned fields in the United States on guns may be 350 feet per second (110 m/s) for Close Quarters Battle (CQB), 400 feet per second (120 m/s) for outdoor play with fully automatic AEG's, 450 feet per second (140 m/s) for semi-auto "DMR" style AEG's, and 550 feet per second (170 m/s) for bolt action sniper rifles, for a 0.20 g pellet.
for comparison purposes
"The standard velocity .22 Short launches a 29-grain bullet at 1,045 feet per second. 95 J of energy"
Probably the best comparison is energy; The plastic pellet gun has approximately 1 joule of energy, the 22 has approximately 95 joules of energy.
While the plastic pellet might sting a bit at close range it is basically harmless. The kids were out of line shooting at the other kids waiting at the bus stop. The school over reacted big time, zero tolerance is a cop out for those to stupid/cowardly to think for themselves. At worst these kids should get a week of detention.
The caller also knew the gun wasn't real and said so, "This is not a real one, but it makes people uncomfortable. I know that it makes me (uncomfortable), as a mom, to see a boy pointing a gun," she told the 911 dispatcher... Ironically, that 911 caller's son was playing with Khalid and Aidan in the Caraballo front yard
http://www.wavy.com/news/local/va-beach/has-zero-tolerance-gone-too-far