Dunno, Les.  I can see this incident being justified if he actually gave the drawing to a student he was actively bullying and verbal or physical innuendos and veiled threats of violence.  But if he just drew a laser gun, then yeah, it’s dumb.

Could have been planning to give someone a vicious paper cut

I can understand if it was a little more.... realistic, such as drawing classmates or teachers being shot, but not just for drawing a laser

Don’t suppose the image that wasn’t loading on the article was a picture of what he drew

A laser gun? Are schools afraid of being attacked by aliens now?

Is this kid secretly some extraterrestrial sleeper?

I mean, come on. Maybe he was doodling something in his imagination, something that he may want to invent one day.

Nice work school board, now the terrorists will have phasers first. Thanks a bundle.

If the kid is bullying other kids then kick him out for the bullying and make that clear. This article is pretty short so I’m sure we’re not getting the full story, but it seems that the school board booted him only because he drew a picture of a laser gun, not because he was using it to bully other students.

Even if it was some kind of ‘warning sign’ do they really think suspending him is going to do anything.  If they’re worried about the kid, then they need to find out what’s wrong with him, give him counselling, etc ad nauseum.

BUT, shouldn’t they have a psychologist, or someone trained to handle this sort of thing, or even just a medical doctor make that judgement?  Where does a principle or school board get the credentials to make a judgement on a kids state of mind based on a drawing and then hand down punishment?  They’re just asking to be sued.

I wish they’d release the picture.  I’d love to know what a “laser gun” looks like.

Hard to imagine it would be as scary as the thought of idiots running schools.

It’s interesting that they’d suspend him for drawing a picture of a laser gun.  What is the punishment for drawing a picture of a REAL gun..... flogging?

To say that these people are overreacting is a courtesy.  I think they’re fucking nutz.  They have to first say “I think this warrants punishment” and then say “I think it is serious that we need to suspend the kid” and THEN when the parents complain say “I think we’re still doing the right thing.” THEN when the papers get hold of the story say “I still think we’re doing the right thing.” AND nowhere during all this “thinking” does anyone think they might get sued, or if they did that either they have a chance of making their case stick or that they’re so convinced they’re doing the right thing that it’s worth the risk.  THAT’S what boggles my mind.

It used to be you had to bring an actual gun to school in order to be suspended for it.

Hell, it used to be (about 30-40 years ago) that you could bring an actual rifle or shotgun to school and nobody would blink an eye. Of course, kids were going hunting and plinking a lot more back then, but still ..

Here’s the actual drawing…

Now that’s scary!

It’s the happy faces.

Or maybe it’s the Lilliputian holding onto the trigger. Or the one atop the slide?

Actually, it looks more like a road with a gun shape to it.

My oldest son did a drawing that someone found objectionable, and it was locked in his file until graduation. Oh, dear lord, the stupidity of the administrator who called me…

This is actually the child’s re-drawing of the “gun”.  The original is locked away and the parents aren’t allowed a copy.

I wonder if the original version had happy faces, or if those are a design evolution driven by the trauma of being treated like a criminal for drawing a picture.

Hiya DOF, I guess that should have been “actual recreation of drawing...”.

This is just BEYOND stupid!!!!  I agree with his mother that this could cause more harm than good.  I once knew a nice kid falsely accused of something who changed into a problem kid - living up to the label placed on him.  I sincerely hope the parents sue and use the money to enroll their son in private school.  Shame on that school!!!!!

The reason nobody here is understanding this issue is evident in the statement “How can you expect to teach kids how to think when you refuse to do it yourselves?”. The thought that children today are being taught how to think is a faulty basis for any discussion concerning the public school systems.

What children are being taught in the school system is to consult authority in all things, which is exactly what has happened here. And no amount of sense, intelligence, reason or combinations of them change the fact that- in light of the basic premise upon which the school systems are functioning- justice has been served.

What happens to the child, or any child in these schools, matters not a whit (to those who run the school). What matters is that authority has been confirmed, it has been consulted and it has passed arbitrary judgment, and the parents in this case have furthered the voice of authority by appealing to it. Golly, the suspension was reduced from five to three days, but the point is that nothing has changed- arbitrary rule has taken over and the school has become a society not of law and rules but of knee-jerk reactions based in character defects.

John