By T.F. Stern, 
We’ve all heard stories about schools going overboard with Zero Tolerance policies; add Brazos ISD to that list. Ten year old Leighann Adair didn’t sneak a handgun, knife or drugs into school; no, something much more sinister was involved, candy. You heard right, candy; and it contained real sugar no doubt.
“ORCHARD, Texas – A third-grader at Brazos Elementary was given a week’s detention for possessing a Jolly Rancher.”
The school administrator could have chopped off one of her hands as a warning to others; a lasting reminder for her classmates, “Don’t bring candy to school!” Create a poster showing Leighann Adair with a piece of chalk jammed into the stump as she scrawls the message on the chalk board, “Don’t bring candy to school!”
Put the poster at the entrance to the cafeteria for all the elementary school kids to see; place it next to the condom machine, the one donated by Planned Parenthood. Have the children write a short essay on the importance of federal funding to furthering their education and how just one student could ruin it for the rest. I’d have suggested the winner of the essay contest be rewarded; but giving candy is out of the question, “Here ya’ go kid, have a condom.”
Maybe it’s time to rethink the role of public schools. If they’ll put a 10 year old in detention over a piece of candy then what will they do if a child draws a picture of a gun ? Zero Tolerance policies invite the use of zero common sense and excuses used by pin headed administrators and teachers.
The Moral Liberal associate editor, T.F. Stern, is a retired City of Houston police officer, self-employed locksmith, and gifted political and social commentator. His popular and insightful blog, T.F. Sterns Rantings, has been up and at it since January of 2005.
