6-year-old suspended for bringing camping utensil to Delaware school

JENNIFER PRICE
The News Journal
October 13, 2009

[efoods]Hundreds of people are expected to be at the Christina School Board meeting tonight fighting for what many call common sense. Six-year-old Zachary Christie was suspended last week for bringing a camping utensil with a knife, fork and spoon to Downes Elementary that he planned to use at lunch to eat his pudding.

He is the latest casualty of a zero-tolerance policy that forbids “dangerous instruments” in schools.

He is not allowed to return to the Newark elementary school until he has completed at least 45 days at an alternative school.

On Monday, the Christina School District was flooded with more than 1,000 angry phone calls from across the country after the Christie family told their story to national media outlets, including The New York Times and the three major television networks.

Zachary’s case struck a nerve with parents and others who feel the zero-tolerance policies unfairly punish children for innocent actions.

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This article was posted: Tuesday, October 13, 2009 at 12:04 pm

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