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Charles has posted the logic (long ago), and convinced me from otherwise, that the law concerning any grounds where a school sponsored activity is taking place actually only applies to school grounds and could never apply to places like a restaurant or the zoo. But as a participant helper, you have agreed to abide by the policies of the organization. So, even if you would not go to jail, the proper (ethical in my mind) thing would be to disarm if that was what their rules say.

As a patron, even if you went there just to support the organization, you would be clear, IMO, to carry. You never agreed to abide by their rules just because you supported them and the law doesn't make it illegal.

As for school property (say a car wash at the school to raise money), The_Busy_Mom's post on how the PTA is organized might make it a little grayer. I would still go with it not being school sponsored since it is a separate organization, even if it requires school permission to exist. But it is much less clear than my original thoughts were on it. My school district has PTOs instead of PTA. To me, they are a school sponsored club, just like the kid's science club is. Anything they do would be a school sponsored activity.

My opinion is to be very careful. The PTA is a national organization that supports schools. It may or may not be sponsored by the school. The PTO is usually an organization sponsored by the school, using this name to avoid being related to the national PTA. I think all of thei activites would count as being school sponsored.

I could be wrong. It might come closer to being like a Boy Scout troop that is sponsored by the school. That would be one of those cases where it will take a court to determine if the event is school sponsored or not.