Another Paranoid School
Sounds like another school going overboard when it comes to disciplining a student. I really hate these stupid "gotta keep the kids safe at all costs" laws which are totally vague, and usually end up causing grief for people that have kids that say stupid things at the wrong time.
Anyhow, this guy is now charged with a felony for writing about blowing up his school. Was he stupid, you bet. A High School senior should know better (especially one that is supposedly gifted at writing). Does he deserve punishment from school? Probably since he did something that stupid. Will it prevent the real nut cases from going into the school with guns? Hell no.
Comments
Twas not the school's fault, but the legislators'. Schools don't mess around with such things. The Principle did not know that this kid didn't have pipe bombs in his basement. He reacted as he should have initially and got the police involved to determine if this was a legitimate threat.
What I'd like to know is why he was suspended for 1 year. Was it due to a existing policy that students charged with a felony would not be allowed on campus? Or was it directly related to the document in question?
In any event, this highlights the need for judicial review. As written, that is a bad law. And if you take away the ability of the Judiciary to "unmake" law, as so many Conservatives are anxious to do, then we get to Orwell a whole lot quicker.
Posted by: Dan Isaacs | June 23, 2003 11:03 AM
Most of the "post-Columbine" laws were written by educators and legislators. The teachers aren't stuck in the middle, they helped write the legislation, and they are the initial point of contact with law enforcement. It doesn't take a genius to figure out if a kid is just being creative or if he's a real psychopath. I don't have a problem with the school contacting the police, or having them search his car (although, if it was my kid, I'd want a search warrant first before they came into my house). I just find it stupid they kicked him out of school so he couldn't graduate. You could kick the living crap out of a kid, and get suspended for a week.
Oh, and BTW, who was trying to use the judiciary to rewrite law back in Florida in 2000? I'm sorry, I must have missed that one. :-)
Posted by: Brian | June 23, 2003 11:48 AM