It seems students can get suspended from schools for almost any reason under today’s zero tolerance [1] policies – or in at least one case, get charged with a felony. Three recent incidents show it is almost impossible for students not to disobey [2] such policies.
Just touching a razorblade can get a student expelled in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Sixth grader Adrionna Harris found this out the hard way when she tried to help another student. Adrionna was suspended [3] from school for taking a razorblade away from a boy who was cutting himself in the schoolyard at Bayside Middle School.
“Instead of getting praise from the school administration, Adrionna got a 10-day suspension with a recommendation for expulsion,” reporter Andy Fox of WAVY-TV said.
“I was just trying to help,” Adrionna told Fox.
“There was not a teacher in sight while this boy is cutting himself,” Rachel Harris said of the incident. “She felt like it was a 911 situation where she had to help immediately.”
School Backs Down
Adrionna and her mother were particularly incensed because the girl was punished after reporting the incident to administrators. Adrionna told Fox that she didn’t carry the razor around the school, and instead she threw it away. The “razor” turned out to be a tiny blade the size of a pebble.
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Even though school officials were apparently aware of the circumstances of the situation but they scheduled an expulsion hearing for Adrionna and ignored Rachel Harris’s complaints until the TV station called the district.
Virginia Beach City Public Schools moved the hearing up, allowed her to return to school, and cleared her record.
Ten Year Old Suspended for Pointing Finger at Student
Meanwhile, Nathan Entingh was suspended [5] from school for doing something that almost every 10-year-old boy on earth does. He made the shape of a gun with his fingers, pointed it at another student’s head and said, “boom.”
Nathan was given a three day suspension for pointing a “level 2 lookalike firearm” (his fingers) at another student and pretending to fire. The incident apparently occurred during class and it upset a teacher.
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“I understand that yeah he probably shouldn’t be doing that at school,” his father, Paul Entingh said. “To kick him out of school for three days for that it’s just a little far.”
“I was just playing around,” Nathan said. “People play around like this a lot at my school.”
Nathan apparently ran afoul of a policy put in place by the principal at Devonshire Alternative Elementary School in Columbus, Ohio. School district spokesman Jeff Warner told The Columbus Dispatch that Price had warned students about pretend gunplay numerous times.
“The kids were told, ‘If you don’t stop doing this type of stuff, there would be consequences,’” Warner said. He also claimed the district had even sent parents three newsletters about the policy.
Volcano Experiment Lands Teen In Jail
Last year in Florida, a Bartow High School junior was arrested after her volcano science experiment caused the lid of a bottle to pop off and smoke to fill the area.
“I brought in my advanced volcano project into my biology class for my teacher to approve,” Kiera Wilmot told USA Today. “My goal was to slow or stop the reaction time of the chemicals. I knew the two chemicals would react, but I had not tried it before and my friend said they would react and encouraged me to just try it in class. So I did when I should not have listened to peer pressure.”
She ended up with a felony charge and behind bars, although charges were later dropped. She has since graduated, but not before spending thousands of dollars in court costs.
What do you think about zero tolerance school policies? Tell us in the comments section below.
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