Quote Originally Posted by Smoked! View Post
CNB, I'm not picking on your post, but your comments raise an interesting point. Florida employs School Resource Officers (SRO's) on most campuses. You would be amazed at the number of incidents that are "solved" on the scene in order to avoid making a formal report. School Principals are now some cross-breed of a middle manager and a politician. That's one ugly duck. Is this particular arrest the intent of the Zero Tolerance policy? I don't think so.

I am aware of incidents ranging from teacher assaults to drug possession that have gone unreported and effectively unpunished. The incident detailed in the subject report seems to be an overreaction and an unintended consequence of the policy. Clearly the steak knife was not intended to be a "weapon." I submit as supporting evidence a half eaten rib-eye included in the child's lunch-box. I have it on good authority that the steak in question was medium rare.

Just to be clear, I'm not suggesting that the school was "wrong" to take some kind of action. I do, however, question the severity of the action taken. I agree with Shelby when he said that it makes no sense in this day and age to send your child off to school with a knife in her lunch-box. That's a fair statement. I would temper that by reminding that we are talking about a school located in Ocala. In some communities around here, people still wear a Buck Knife on their belt when they attend Church every Sunday... which they drive to in their 4x4's... complete with gun rack. I'm just sayin'.

I agree it is not a smart move to send your kid to school with a steak knife. But does the punishment fit the crime? I think not, zero tolerance is stupidity, plain and simple. It is for cowardly people who don't want to make a decision and stand by it. That way they can just blather that the policy dicatated their actions. Of course, the bigger issue at hand is "discrimination" charges the school would face it they did use their own judgement.

Someone whose kid did get expelled and arrested woudl get them a lawyer, who would proceed to pull records to prove a pattern of discrimination. After painting a pretty picture for a jury, the school district caves, pays out a huge settlement, and then their own higher ups or their insurance company then forces them to avoid this in future by adopting....drum roll please.... a zero tolerance policy.

So the bigger issue at hand is that we are constantly being forced into a siege mentality by lawsuits and the threat or even implied threat of lawsuits. It's turning our society into a small-minded, stupid entity.