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An independent hearing examiner has ordered a straight-A sixth grader not be expelled for having brought a steak knife to class. The knife was to cut an onion for a science experiment. The twelve-year-old has been suspended since 12 March.

“My goodness me,” she said, “if we haven’t gotten the message to him that he made a mistake already – which, in fact, he’s admitted – by suspending him for 15 days, we need our heads examined.”

Of course, not everyone is happy with the decision, which will no doubt rain blood and ruin upon civilization.

Attorney Joseph Hill, the district’s expulsions coordinator, called Briggs’ decision “a mistake,” saying, “it sends the wrong message.”
District administrators testified that zero-tolerance policies must be enforced consistently. While they agreed that Christian had no criminal intent, they said motive was irrelevant – any weapon that ends up at school for any reason could fall into the wrong hands.

Right. So could staplers. And scissors. And the cars that the faculty arrive in. And sharp keys. And …

In an initial letter to Christian’s parents last month, Cherokee Principal Karen Seno said she would recommend a one-year expulsion. During Monday’s hearing, Superintendent Art Rainwater said his recommendation to the School Board would be to expel Christian until only the end of this school year. The boy could return earlier if he completed either a psychological exam or an anger management class.

Right. Because clearly the kid was psychologically disturbed. He should have planned to cut open the onion with the power of his mind.

The knife Christian brought to school has a 4-inch serrated blade and a sharp point. Rainwater said he believed strongly that “it could cause substantial injury or death.”

Clever observation, Sherlock. Perhaps CPS should be called to the boy’s house in order to save him from the dangerous environment where such weapons are freely available.

Although knives are sometimes used by middle school students in cooking classes, they are used under the supervision of teachers – a critical difference, Rainwater said. In this case, the teacher didn’t know about the knife.

You mean to say that the district actually admits to putting weapons that “could cause substantial injury or death” into the hands of students with teacher approval? Maybe we should call in CPS there!

Hill, the district’s attorney, said Christian’s character was never in question, only his unfortunate behavior on March 11.

“Which is why we wanted to expel him.”

“(Schools) are much safer,” said Steve Fernan, coordinator for safe and drug-free schools for the state Department of Public Instruction. Of all states in one recent survey, “(Wisconsin) had the lowest levels and most precipitous drops among students carrying weapons, fighting in schools and students staying home because they did not feel safe,” he said.
Since zero-tolerance policies became popular in Wisconsin, the number of students expelled has tripled, from about 450 during the 1991-92 school year to 1,472 in the 2000-01 school year.

Yeah. Kicking out those homicidal honors students from middle school certainly is useful at lending an element of terror to keep everyone treading on egg shells.

Don’t get me wrong. If this kid had brought a knife to school and attacked a kid — or even brought a knife to school in anticipating of using it in combat — I’d be up there cheering to see him booted out. And, sure, it’s a lot tougher to look at silly little things like motivation and character and circumstances in evaluating offenses.

But leaving those little evaluations out lead to miscarriages of justice like this effort by the school board to kick out a kid that event the teacher who “caught” him thought should not be expelled.

These are kids, folks. We have to assume that they will make mistakes. That makes justice, mercy, and understanding all the more important in providing them discipline.