APNewsBreak: Zero-tolerance policy change likely

BALTIMORE — A Delaware first-grader suspended for bringing his favorite camping utensil to school will likely get a reprieve, a school board member said Tuesday.

Zachary Christie, 6, was ordered to spend 45 days in his district’s alternative school for troublemakers after he tried to use the combination folding fork, knife and spoon to eat lunch at Downes Elementary School in Newark, Del.

The knife is banned as a dangerous instrument under the Christina School District’s zero-tolerance policy, and officials said they were forced to act regardless of Zachary’s age or what he planned to do with it.

Hundreds of people were expected to attend a school board meeting Tuesday night, and member John Mackenzie said the board would likely amend the policy. Any change would be retroactive to the beginning of the school year.

“The policy, of course, needs some additional flexibility,” Mackenzie told The Associated Press. “Politically, zero tolerance is what everybody clamors for, until we start to realize how harsh zero tolerance can be.”

Zachary’s mother, Debbie Christie, is appealing her son’s suspension and said she would prefer that the district’s policy consider a child’s age and intent.

“I understand why they have it, but I don’t agree with the implementation of it,” she told NBC’s “Today” show Tuesday.

Zachary said in an interview on CBS’ “Early Show” that he understands weapons don’t belong in school.

“I agree that they shouldn’t bring dangerous weapons to school but I don’t think the punishment should be this bad,” Zachary said. “It’s not fair.”

He’s being homeschooled for now but said he sometimes misses his friends and wants to go back to Downes.

State Democratic Rep. Terry Schooley sponsored a bill that gave districts more flexibility on punishments, but the law applies to expulsions, not suspensions. She was moved to act after a fifth-grader in same school district was expelled last year for bringing a birthday cake and a serrated knife to cut it with; the expulsion was overturned.

“A state law can’t cover every little circumstance that happens in a school district,” she said.

Mackenzie said teachers and administrators have felt compelled to ignore the policy on occasion and he’s surprised that didn’t happen in Zachary’s case.

The American Psychological Association has argued that strict zero-tolerance rules hurt student achievement and can even make schools less safe.

“When that common sense is missing, it sends a message of inconsistency to students, which actually creates a less safe environment,” said Kenneth S. Trump, president of National School Safety and Security Services, a consulting firm. “People have to understand that assessing on a case-by-case basis doesn’t automatically equate to being soft or unsafe.”