A 16 year old charged with three counts of attempted murder is walking the halls of Madison East High School.

You may think it sounds absurd, but it's not the first time a student charged with a serious crime has attended class.

Andrew Pirsch is charged with three counts of attempted first degree intentional homicide in connection with a drive-by shooting in Oregon last month that left three people injured.

He is one of 12 suspects charged in the case.

And while Madison School District officials won't comment on Pirsch because of privacy laws, state law says the right to an education cannot be denied no matter the offense.

School officials say they can't prevent a student from attending if the alleged crime isn't connected to the school.

And they can't segregate a student without approval by the student's family.

But school officials say there is no cause for alarm as this is not unusual, they are notified and there are several safety plans in place at all schools.

"Because someone has been charged with a serious crime in their neighborhood does not make the school unsafe nor does it make the city unsafe," says Madison Metropolitan School District's Security Chief Ted Balistreri, "We have hundreds and hundreds of kids who have been charged with serious crimes and we have the safest city in the community."

Balistreri says at this time he is not specifically worried about any particular student or incident.

All 12 suspects in the case are due to appear in Dane County Court on September 28 for their arraignments.

They'll be formally charged and then enter their pleas.

Lucy Mathiak, who is involved in East High United, one of the school's parent groups, says she's not concerned.

She says the kids aren't upset and Pirsch isn't creating a problem.

In fact, Mathiak says this year parents are seeing a more positive attitude across the board at East High School.