6 year old suspended for bringing camping tool to school: has zero tolerance gone too far?

October 14, 8:34 PMChild Safety ExaminerSusan Carney

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This isn't the first time that an innocent child was ensnared in a "zero tolerance" policy, and it certainly won't be the last.

Zachary Christie is a 6 year old kindergartner who was suspended for 45 days, with the option of spending that time in a district reform school or being homeschooled, for bringing a dangerous weapon to his Delaware school.  The weapon in question?  A fork/spoon/knife combo camping tool that the new Cub Scout brought to school to eat his lunch. 

My own son is nearly five, a year away from kindergarten, yet I can imagine him feeling a similar sense of pride and excitement over such an object, and being eager to not only use it but show his friends at school.  And while most parents are cognizant enough of the violence problems in schools to agree that tough stands need to be taken against kids who wield weapons, it's hard to fathom the wisdom behind a decision that appears to lump Zachary into the same category as a teenager or young adult who knowingly chooses to bring a weapon to school with the intent on harming someone.

This type of thing has happened before.  Very young children have been suspended for bringing items like nail clippers, nail files, and other dubious items to school.  One of the problems with the zero tolerance policies is that they apply a one-size-fits-all outcome to situations that realistically require a certain amount of discretion, good judgment, and perspective.  School officials often find their hands tied; the way the poilicies are written, they can't take a case-by-case approach even if they wanted to.  There's no room for looking at a child's intent, developmental level, or understanding of cause and effect. 

The irony is that in the real world, the legal system operates very differently.  It does look at the child's understanding of what has happened, their intent, their understanding of right and wrong.  In fact, it looks at that in all cases.  So why should kids have fewer rights while in school?  Why should a young life be derailed because of an action that didn't hurt anyone, didn't mean to hurt anyone, and is only a problem because of someone else's narrow definition of what "dangerous behavior" is?

Luckily for Zachary, his suspension has been overturned and he is able to return to school.  Hopefully, this case will open the door for his school, and others, to rethink their zero tolerance policies, and to offer a little more flexibility in their punishment policies, so that kids like Zachary will be protected, too.