Yet another case of zero-tolerance idiocy.

http://denver.cbslocal.com/2012/02/20/girl-who-borrowed-asthma-inhaler-expelled-from-school/

"For 10 days Breana Crites and Alyssa McKinney sat at home while suspended from school. The two were in gym class. Crites complained of trouble breathing, so McKinney lent out her asthma inhaler.

“I know what it feels like not to being able to breathe and I know how hard it is and I just took that into consideration,” McKinney said.

The two were sent home. Two weeks later McKinney was allowed to return. Crites however, was expelled.

“She should be back in school,” McKinney said.

“I think absolutely the suspension was appropriate,” Superintendent John Borman told CBS4 in January.

School policy forbids the sharing of any prescription drug. A letter to the students said expulsion was always a possibility. The school district did not return calls about why McKinney was allowed to return but Crites was not.

“The lesson that I learned from this is not to help people, because helping people is just going to get yourself in trouble,” McKinney said."

Administrators that hide behind zero tolerance policies regardless of the situation are cowards, especially when it comes to dealing with kids.

There must be something more to that story. I dislike stupid administrators as much as the next one but clearly that wasn't actually zero tolerance because only one of the two was expelled, i.e. the two got different punishments. I can't imagine anyone would really expel someone who couldn't breathe because they borrowed an inhaler from someone else.

Yuki hates kids with asthma!

...and only dislikes administrators.




[face_Hitler]

 

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I think there is something more to this as well

The procedure for most districts is an emergency expulsion for up to two weeks while the school and/or district review the facts and make a final determination on any "zero tolerance" finding, meaning there really is no such thing as zero tolerance. It could be that the students had a different discipline history. It could also be that the students were actually getting ripped behind the bleachers. The funny thing about school districts is that they can't talk about an incident and are pretty easy targets of disgruntled children and their parents. Zero tolerance policies do result in a lot of stupid situations and I don't doubt that this could be true, but I learned a long time ago not to put faith into stories when one side can say anything they want and the other can't respond at all.

 

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Once again I'm rendered speechless by an example of American stupidity. Seems to be an Anglo-Saxon fetish for overly harsh punishment over quasi-imagined crimes.

 

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You certainly have to understand the intended policy behind this one at least. Can't have kids sharing pills and when you are "lenient" with one, then you set the precedent. And I agree with different punishments being out of whack.

That said, the subject says "asthma attack" while the article seems to imply "trouble breathing"....

I don't have asthma so I'm not sure the severity of the "trouble breathing" and if the girl could have been treated by being sent home to get her own, nurses station, etc., etc. Or if the easiest solution was just to use a friend's prescription. I do know that I've seen attacks and that's another story entirely in which case there is no question she should have shared it.

 

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Yeah. We don't know enough here.

In a life-threatening situation this could be excused. Otherwise, there's no need to lend someone a drug like that. It can indeed have not-great side effects.

 

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Yeah just think of the terrible things that could have happened, like... well... I dunno you tell me.

 

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She probably had trouble breathing because she was too fat.

 

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