Board Scales Back 45 Day Punishment for 6-yearold Cub Scout who Brought Camping Utensil “Weapon” to School

The Delaware first-grade desperado who faced a lengthy punishment for bringing his favorite eating utensil to school — a combination folding knife, fork and spoon — has gotten a stay from a Delaware school board.

 Under national pressure  and facing almost certain political destruction at the next election the school board made a hasty change to its strict code of conduct Tuesday night.

In a Forest Gump moment the seven-member board voted unanimously to reduce the punishment for kindergartners and first-graders who bring “weapons” to school or commit other violent offenses to a suspension ranging from three to five days. But, whoa be to the 7-year old that shows up at school with a plastic pudding spoon.

Zachary Christie, 6, had faced 45 days in a “reform” school for troublemakers after he brought the utensil to school with the intent of using it to eat his lunch.

The punishment is one of several in recent years that has sparked national debate on whether school systems have gone too far without propr though by enacting silly  policies while the nation’s public education system has spiraled down the toilet.

Zachary’s mother, Debbie Christie, attended the meeting to appealing her son’s punishment at the school board meeting

In an interview on CBS’ “Early Show” on Tuesday, Zachary said weapons don’t belong in school, but the punishment shouldn’t be so bad.

At least one school board member agreed.

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

The change was recommended by the district discipline director, Sharon Denney, who had been studying possible changes to the code of conduct before the incident, said Wendy Lapham, a spokeswoman for the school district.

The school board is not bound by that recommended change, and more changes are likely in the future, Lapham said.

“We’re continuing to work towards making a code of conduct that does allow us to have the flexibility that we need,” Lapham said.

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 the same school district was expelled last year for bringing a birthday cake and a serrated knife to cut it with. The young Capone’s expulsion was overturned.

Board member 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.”