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Zero Tolerance Loosened for Non-Firearm Weapons in DE Schools

melinda shelton
/
creative commons

WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) - Local schools boards in Delaware being given more discretion in how to handle incidents involving students bringing weapons other than guns to school.

A bill being signed Friday by Gov. John Carney moves away from a "zero-tolerance" approach and gives district school boards and charter school boards more discretion on a case-by-case basis in deciding whether to suspend a student for possession of a deadly weapon other than a firearm.

The bill was prompted by the case of a Brandywine School District student who was suspended for five days in 2015 after two credit card knives were found in his backpack.

The student's family filed a lawsuit over his suspension, which Brandywine School officials settled earlier this year for $60,000.

Don Rush is the News Director at Delmarva Public Media. An award-winning journalist, Don reports major local issues of the day, from sea level rise, to urban development, to the changing demographics of Delmarva.