Perspective: When discipline goes overboard

With her family, friends and even a university president behind her, Lindsay Brown shouldn't worry that missing her high school graduation on Tuesday will cause her any lasting regrets. It's not an event that most seniors want to skip. But the Estero High School senior and National Merit Scholar is banned from her own graduation because a school resource officer found a kitchen knife in her car that she says she didn't even know was there. Brown was arrested on a felony weapons charge, spent hours in Lee County jail, was suspended from school for five days and barred from all senior activities.

Now Brown's friends are boycotting the graduation, and for good reason. This example of "zero tolerance" disregards Brown's apparently innocent intent and spotless record. Principal Fred Bode, in a knee-jerk response typical of the policy, simply threw the book at Brown without looking. He also refused to hear any of Brown's appeals, claiming there isn't enough time before graduation. But graduation isn't until Tuesday; that gave Bode ample time to consider Brown's appeal.

The classmates who say they won't attend graduation if Brown is barred have taken a more common-sense reaction to the incident than their principal has. They also have shown a better appreciation of students' civil liberties, which zero-tolerance policies often violate.

A judge wouldn't put a criminal behind bars without hearing his defense, yet our education system sees fit to expel innocent students who make honest mistakes. Bringing a gun to school isn't a "bad choice," as the school resource officer referred to Brown's situation -- it's a felony. But Brown, and many other students like her across the United States, have been given the same punishment as the thug who conceals a pistol in his pants before English class.

Zero tolerance wasn't appropriate for the New Jersey 10-year-old who cried "I could kill her!" after she wet her pants because a teacher wouldn't let her use the restroom. It wasn't appropriate for the 11-year-old student at Carwise Middle School who was suspended for bringing a butter knife to school. School administrators should examine what it means to be a criminal. As Florida schools turn to extreme measures and the criminal justice system to handle even negligible discipline problems, that's how students are made to feel.

If school officials refuse to tolerate or even rationally discuss discipline issues such as Lindsay Brown's "bad choice," students begin to lose respect for the rules and rituals of the education system. That may be as obvious as the empty seats at Tuesday's graduation.

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