Student Suspended For Taking Razor Away From Classmate Who Was Cutting Himself

The mother of a sixth grade Virginia Beach student says her child was suspended for doing the right thing.

Last Thursday, Adrionna Harris was recommended for expulsion and faced a 10 day suspension after she took a razor away from a student who was cutting himself, WAVY reports. The station says Harris threw the razor blade in the trash and then convinced the student that his behavior was wrong.

"I was shocked and surprised. I was very shocked that a student would get suspended for saving another child,” said Rachael Harris, Adrionna’s mother. “The school system over-reached, absolutely."

Harris' suspension came because of the school's "zero tolerance" policy on weapons.

Once WAVY generated interest in the story, the school seemed to back pedal. Now Adrionna is expected to return to school on Friday or Monday.

The school declined to comment when contacted by The Huffington Post.

READ MORE at WAVY

But zero tolerance policies have raised the ire of parents and students before.

In September, the American Civil Liberties Union was up in arms over a student who was expelled after he allegedly assaulted a teacher. The student claims that all he did was try to grab a piece of paper from the educator.

But under the school's zero tolerance policy, the assault accusation triggered an arrest and automatic expulsion for then 14-year-old Kyle Thompson. That's unfair and unwise, Rodd Monts, field director for the ACLU of Michigan told The Huffington Post at the time.

"We need to look more seriously at how we deal with misconduct appropriately in ways that students learn from that allows them to stay in school and complete their education," Monts said.

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