Even when the testing came back NEGATIVE on the marijuana the ZERO TOLERANCE is still in effect: "For one, field tests of the leaf, identified as marijuana by school officials and the county sheriff’s office, came back negative three times."
Even when: "Having no evidence to stand on, the county prosecutor dropped the case against R.M.B.; however, he would still have to follow the school’s orders to attend the alternative school, apart from his peers friends and extra-cirricular activities." so the school stands that you are GUILTY on an assumption!
All the Schools have to do is make an ACCUSATION and the student is done with!!!
11-year-old Suspended For A Year After School Mistakes Ordinary Leaf for Marijuana
http://www.infowars.com/6th-
Sixth grader falls victim to state's stringent zero tolerance laws
by Adan Salazar | Infowars.com | March 16, 2015
A Virginia couple is suing their son’s middle school after he was wrongly accused of possessing marijuana, a false allegation that set off a chain of events that ultimately degraded the student’s mental well-being.
Parents Linda and Bruce Bays have a federal lawsuit pending against the Bedford County Schools and the Bedford County Sheriff’s Office for wrongfully pinning a marijuana charge on their son, a participant of the school’s gifted-and-talented program.
They aren’t sure how a lighter and a leaf ended up in their 11-year-old’s backpack, but they’re positive the extent of his punishment doesn’t fit the alleged crime.
For one, field tests of the leaf, identified as marijuana by school officials and the county sheriff’s office, came back negative three times.
“Essentially they kicked him out of school for something they couldn’t prove he did,” the family’s lawyer Melvin Williams says, commenting on the boy’s 364-day suspension.
Back on September 22, the Bays’ son, identified as R.M.B. in court documents, was summoned to the principal’s office where he was interrogated and asked to empty the contents of his backpack.
Assistant Principal Brian Wilson began by asking “if he had anything he shouldn’t have. He said, ‘No,’” according to a report from The Roanoke Times.
The principal then opened a zipper on the front of the boy’s bag that revealed a lighter and a leaf.
R.M.B.’s parents were told their son was showing off the items to other students in class and inside a bathroom claiming the leaf to be marijuana, which the student denies.
School officials, however, didn’t hesitate to exercise the full authority of Virginia’s zero-tolerance laws, moving to suspend the student for a year.
The Bays’ lawsuit also names the school’s resource officer, Deputy M.M. Calhoun, who issued a false testimony before a judge.
“The field test came back not inconclusive, but negative,” says Williams, adding, “Yet she went to a magistrate and swore he possessed marijuana at school.”
Despite the absence of evidence, R.M.B. was ordered to attend an alternative school full of problem children and ne’er-do-wells.
Additionally, R.M.B. would be forced to endure bag searches upon entering and leaving the school each day, which didn’t sit well with his parents, who got the school to agree to allow him to take homeschool classes following a strictly timed regimen.
The Bays say the events left their son worse for wear, and he began to fall into an emotional slump.
“[He] just broke down and said his life was over. He would never be able to get into college; he would never be able to get a job,” his mother described.
After the school suspected R.M.B. of having substance abuse problems, he was ordered to see a psychiatrist for an evaluation, who found him to be suffering from panic attacks and depression.
Having no evidence to stand on, the county prosecutor dropped the case against R.M.B.; however, he would still have to follow the school’s orders to attend the alternative school, apart from his peers friends and extra-cirricular activities.
The school cites the state’s rigorous zero-tolerance laws as justification for the suspension, which makes no distinction between actual drugs and “lookalike,” or “imitation” drugs.
But the Bays’ lawyer says the school doesn’t have a legal leg to stand on.
“If the school argues now that they were justified in suspending him for possession of lookalike marijuana, that’s disingenuous because they’ve never argued that prior to the suit being filed,” he says.
Given the school’s rush to punish the boy, despite an utter lack of evidence, the Bays’ case is emblematic of the inherent problems with irrational zero tolerance policies and the overarching move to transform public schools into something more similar to prisons.
R.M.B. is still under probation until this September, but his parents vow to keep up the fight until their son is exonerated of any wrongdoing.
Dan
3 comments:
I pray for the healing of this sweet boy and his parents. I also pray that Karma kicks the *ss of the Sheriff Deputy; the Prosecutor; the Judge; and the school. You reap what you sow and and the reaping is on its way!
When are parents going to realize law enforcement, school officials, judges, child protective services , corporations , lawyers , bankers and so on don't give a dam about you children. Wake up and fight back if you care about your children like others have done. Just don't stand for it.
This won't get posted but I'll write it anyway... This poor "innocent" boy!!! Why in the world would he take a dried "leaf" to school in the first place? Huh? That act alone tells us a lot about him! Would you call it open defiance? A big joke? Everything is a big joke with today's rebellious brats. Today's classrooms are full of arrogant little troublemakers who spend their entire day trying to harass school officials, teachers and anyone else they can bully. The kids of today are not the same as the the kids you and I went to school with. They have seen everything (TV, movies, experience) and tried to do everything...I spent forty years in the classroom and saw the change. And of course, the parents are even worse!
Post a Comment