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Irregular News for 9.29.05
Omaha, NE. -- A butter knife in a boy's book bag led to suspension at Omaha Public Schools this week.
Ethan Gray is a first-grader at Ed Babe Gomez Heritage Elementary School at 17th and P streets. Gray said he didn't know the knife was in his book bag. OPS said it has a zero-tolerance policy.
Now, there's a standoff. Gray's parents say they won't send their son to school until the district backs down on its mandatory suspension, and the district said it doesn't have any plans to do that.
Gray, who is 6, said he brought his book bag to school on Monday, but when he set it down, one of his family's butter knives fell out onto the cafeteria floor. A teacher walked up to question him.
Gray told the teacher he wasn't sure how the knife got there. His family thinks his 4-year-old brother, Ben, put it there.
Ethan Gray. The school now plans to give the boy a one-day in-school suspension as part of its "no tolerance" weapons policy.
"We're going to file suit to prevent that suspension," said the family's attorney, James Martin Davis.
Gray's family said there needs to be some leeway in this case. It was an accident and they don't want an example to be made of their son.
"If he ever needs the benefit of the doubt, he's not going to get it. He's going to be labeled as a kid who brought a weapon to school," said Ethan's mother, Lynette Gray.
OPS said any knife is considered a weapon. The principal has some discretion on the punishment for students in grades K through 3, as long as the weapon isn't a firearm.
"It isn't like we have a hammer and treat everything like a nail. We try to redirect the behavior," said OPS's Steve Nelson.
The Gray family said redirecting behavior implies the boy brought the knife to school on purpose.
"How can my son, who's still learning to tie his shoes, be responsible for a book bag that I shoved him out the door with?" Lynette Gray said.
Law enforcement was contacted in the case. OPS said the boy could have been expelled. The record will go into a confidential file along with test scores that only district employees, teachers and parents can access.
Full Story
Omaha, NE. -- A butter knife in a boy's book bag led to suspension at Omaha Public Schools this week.
Ethan Gray is a first-grader at Ed Babe Gomez Heritage Elementary School at 17th and P streets. Gray said he didn't know the knife was in his book bag. OPS said it has a zero-tolerance policy.
Now, there's a standoff. Gray's parents say they won't send their son to school until the district backs down on its mandatory suspension, and the district said it doesn't have any plans to do that.
Gray, who is 6, said he brought his book bag to school on Monday, but when he set it down, one of his family's butter knives fell out onto the cafeteria floor. A teacher walked up to question him.
Gray told the teacher he wasn't sure how the knife got there. His family thinks his 4-year-old brother, Ben, put it there.
Ethan Gray. The school now plans to give the boy a one-day in-school suspension as part of its "no tolerance" weapons policy.
"We're going to file suit to prevent that suspension," said the family's attorney, James Martin Davis.
Gray's family said there needs to be some leeway in this case. It was an accident and they don't want an example to be made of their son.
"If he ever needs the benefit of the doubt, he's not going to get it. He's going to be labeled as a kid who brought a weapon to school," said Ethan's mother, Lynette Gray.
OPS said any knife is considered a weapon. The principal has some discretion on the punishment for students in grades K through 3, as long as the weapon isn't a firearm.
"It isn't like we have a hammer and treat everything like a nail. We try to redirect the behavior," said OPS's Steve Nelson.
The Gray family said redirecting behavior implies the boy brought the knife to school on purpose.
"How can my son, who's still learning to tie his shoes, be responsible for a book bag that I shoved him out the door with?" Lynette Gray said.
Law enforcement was contacted in the case. OPS said the boy could have been expelled. The record will go into a confidential file along with test scores that only district employees, teachers and parents can access.
Full Story
