In Baytown there is a zero tolerance battle brewing over the expulsion of a student for having a fishing knife in his truck:
More than a dozen Robert E. Lee High School students, in the Goose Creek Independent School District, wore orange armbands declaring, “Keep Kirby in Baytown,” as they attended classes Monday.
“They started as a protest to keep him in school and one thing led to another, so we got started. We’re trying to keep him in school,” an unidentified student said.
Kirby Ball, 18, was expelled from Lee recently after a random security search discovered a knife in his pickup truck. He said the knife belonged to a buddy who accidentally left it in the passenger door after a fishing trip.
“We just always leave our knives in there. It’s not like we want to bring them to school and use them. We just keep them in there,” said Jill Sayers, a high school student.
Superintendent Barbara Sultis said Ball’s knife fit the state law description of a weapon, and the Texas Education Code calls for expulsion when students posses a weapon.
The district released the following statement to Local 2.
“The situation involving the Robert E. Lee High School student was handled in accordance with district policy. We take very seriously any incidents involving weapons at our schools in keeping with our commitment to provide safe and secure learning environments for all of our students.”
There are times when tough punishment is called for, and there are times when common sense should prevail. Zero tolerance policies often criminalize students for minor infractions or oversights, as the above case shows.
