Free Republic

Darin left his backpack at a friend's house and had to be sent to school with a backup. When he discovered the toy in the bag, knowing it was illegal, Darin turned the contraband into his teacher. "He found the toy gun on the outside pocket," Darin's father Chris Simak told local reporters. "He took it straight to the teacher and said that he wasn't allowed to have it." Darin's teacher followed protocol and brought the first grader to the principal, where he was immediately suspended pending an expulsion hearing. According to the school charter, the punishment for bringing a...

A 13-year-old Kansas 8th grader says he was suspended from school for carrying a purse. Skylar Davis says the Vera Bradley purse is his form of expression. He adds that girls carry purses, so he should be able to do the same. …

When do schools assume legal responsibility for your children? At the school, on the bus, or at the bus stop? The latter is likely the best answer, but no one believes that it starts in your front yard, seventy feet away from the bus stop. Nobody, that is, except perhaps the Virginia Beach City Public School System, which may expel Khalid Caraballo today for shooting a non-lethal pellet pistol in his own front yard last week:CLICK ABOVE LINK FOR THE VIDEO A suspended seventh grade Virginia Beach student will find out soon if he is expelled for the rest of...

A Pennsylvania high school student has been suspended for what his attorney calls “doing the right thing”—handing in a pocket knife that he accidentally brought to a football game. … (David) Schaffner (III, 16,) was asked to leave the game and on Monday was handed a 10-day out-of-school suspension by the Fox Chapel Area school district. The district’s parent-student handbook says students who bring weapons to school or school-related events—including knives and firearms—can be expelled for a year, Triblive.com reports. …

School officials in Calvert County, Maryland have denied a request to expunge the suspension of the kindergartener who brought a plastic cap gun on a school bus last month and then wet his pants during a subsequent interrogation. The refusal came in the form of a letter dated Friday, reports The Washington Post. The letter stated that the five-year-old “did bring a cap gun in his book bag.” It also charged that some other children were frightened and told school officials that they couldn’t discern if the orange-tipped cowboy-style gun was real or fake. The unidentified kindergartener had brought the...

We’ve been hearing a number of reports this past year about students being suspended for being kids and standing up for their constitutional rights. Kindergartners, first and second graders are being punished for pretend shooting with their fingers or supposedly chewing a toaster pastry into the shape of a gun. But have you ever heard of a student being suspended for saving the life of another student? Last Tuesday morning, 7th grader Briar MacLean was sitting in class. It was a study period. While the teacher was on the far side of the classroom, one student near Briar began to...

"The boy was questioned by the principal and a sheriff's deputy, who also wanted to search the family home without a warrant, Henkelman said. "He started asking me questions about if I have firearms, and [the deputy said] he's going to have to search my house. Search my house? I just wanted to know what happened."

A 58-year-old Brookfield woman charged by Riverside police Friday for driving under the influence said she had been out celebrating the imminent return of her driver’s license from an earlier drunk driving conviction. According to a news release from the Riverside Police Department, Erin James, 58, was charged after she was stopped for speeding at 2:10 a.m. Friday in the 3400 block of South Harlem Avenue. The release said that when she later underwent a breath test at the department, her blood alcohol level was 0.155 percent; the legal limit is 0.08. **SNIP** James is scheduled to appear in Central...

A fifth-grader in Cupertino, California was suspended and threatened with expulsion for bringing a small Swiss Army knife on a school-sponsored, science-oriented camping trip. In early April, Braden Bandermann’s class set off on Garden Gate Elementary School’s annual, week-long pilgrimage for fifth-graders to Marin Headlands, just north of San Francisco. Before leaving, Braden did what any Silicon Valley 10-year-old faced with the perils of nature might do: He packed his trusty Swiss Army knife. As any camper knows, the multi-tool device is nothing if not versatile. Braden’s particular model contains a can opener, tweezers, a toothpick, a nail file, a...

<p>A Maryland lawmaker has introduced legislation after a 7-year-old boy in his district was suspended for shaping a pastry into what his teacher thought looked like a gun.</p> <p>The Star Democrat reports that Republican Sen. J.B. Jennings introduced a bill that would prohibit schools from suspending students for seemingly harmless childish acts, such as playing games with fingers pointed like guns or chewing food into the shape of a firearm.</p>

The NBA on Tuesday gave Lakers forward Metta World Peace a one-game suspension for an altercation with Brandon Knight of the Detroit Pistons.

Michael Moore recently said that the only reason white people are buying a bunch of guns in the wake of the Sandy Hook shooting is that they’re fearful. Afraid of black people specifically. He said, “Calm down, white people, and put away your guns.” So if we’re all buying guns and ammo out of fear of the black man, what emotion would cause this idiocy: a 6-year-old boy was suspended from school for making his hand in the shape of a gun and pretend shooting it, saying, “Pow,” as it was pointed at a fellow student. Were school officials actually...

Looks like it's time to ask, "Who has the authority to suspend the presidential election?"

You need closure. Following individual meetings this week with school and district administrators, each family waived their right to a hearing and agreed to one-year suspensions from school and regular bus transportation. The Greece Central School District is legally required to provide all students ages 5 to 16 with an education, therefore, during the 2012-13 school year, the students who have been suspended will be transferred to the district Reengagement Center, located in a non-school facility. This alternative education program keeps middle school students on track academically while providing a structured opportunity for students to take responsibility for their actions...

Newt Gingrich announced the suspension of his campaign for the 2012 Republican presidential nominee.

By now you have assuredly read, either from our team here in Texas or in the media, Newt will be suspending his presidential campaign effective May 1st. While we are all certainly disheartened by the news that our preferred candidate will no longer be vying for the Republican Nomination, we can be proud of the all the efforts put forth by this wonderful team we built together in Texas. I would like to specifically thank some of you who went above and beyond in their efforts both to assist me and Newt. First, to Sondra Zeigler who travelled around various...

A twitter message, allegedly sent by Trayvon's older brother, suggests Trayvon was suspended for assaulting a bus driver. Trayvon Martin was on a suspension from school when he was tragically shot last February 26th. His school, Dr. Micheal M. Krop Senoir High School, has not given any details. His family has also evaded the issue. According to the Kansas City Star, the length of the suspension was ten days. This suggests a very serious offense.

Oakland University in Michigan has denied the appeal of a student who was barred from campus, suspended for three semesters, and required to undergo "sensitivity" counseling for authoring a class assignment in which he stated that he found his instructors attractive. While the assignment specifically permitted students to write creatively about any topic, the university bizarrely classified his "Hot for Teacher" essay as "unlawful." Joseph Corlett came to the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) for help. "Oakland University made up its own definition of the 'law' in order to punish a student for his creative writing," said FIRE...

The Tebow mania sweeping the nation sacked a group of Long Island high-school students who were suspended for mimicking the quarterback’s famous prayer pose. Twin brothers Tyler and Connor Carroll of Riverhead HS and classmates Jordan Fulcoly and Wayne Drexel were hit with one-day suspensions for kneeling and bowing their heads like Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow does when he scores a touchdown. Administrators said the weeklong “Tebowing” craze was a distraction and a hallway hazard after dozens of classmates followed their lead. “It was basically just a tribute to Tim Tebow,” Carroll Connor, 17, who planned the prank with...

(APPLAUSE) CAIN: Thank you, my friends. Well, you all are great. Thank you, thank you, thank you. I love y'all, too. CROWD: Gloria, Gloria, Gloria, Gloria! CAIN: Well, let me first say that as usual, the Cain supporters are not warm weather supporters. And I can't thank all of you enough for what you've done, how far we have come, and the things that we have done, the things that we have been able to achieve. You know, I chose to run for president because the politicians in Washington, D.C. wouldn't do their jobs. That's why I chose to run....