Fort Bend ISD
INCIDENT:
In 10/05 our son brought one my husband's collector pocketknives to school to show a friend. It was an antique switchblade pocketknife. My husband has over 200 collector knives. My son showed it to a friend at school. Another student saw my son showing it to the teacher and she called it outside the class and asked what was in his pocket. My son told her that it was a knife that he brought to school to show his friend. The teacher took him to the principal’s office and called my husband. They did not arrest my son at that point, because the school police officer was off duty at that time. My son was 14 at the time and in the 8th grade. My son was in honor courses, never had any incident at school requiring any detention and/or problems. He sings in the church choir, plays baseball on a team, and plays chess.
FBISD RESPONSE:
He was expelled from school. Charges were filed against him by the school district and the state of Texas and he was give 21 days in JJAEP. His head was shaved the first day at JJAEP. He was drug tested every week. Because he was in honors classes, they were not able to help him with his schoolwork. We had to buy his advanced course books from the school so that he could continue his work on his own. We had to drive our son there and pick him up everyday. He was behind barbwire-fenced yard. The Fort Bend Sheriff’s Department maintained the school. He was not allowed to talk, and the other students were from the Juvenile Jail System. We were not served with court papers until March of 2006 from the Fort Bend County Juvenile Court System. When he returned to school, the kids that were on probation were randomly taken from their classes to the school office. They were drug tested at school. We had to hire a criminal lawyer. My son was charged with "Felony" charges by the state of Texas because he has an antique "switchblade" in his pocket. The judge that heard his case stated: "I was a Van Halen fan and everyone had knives in the 1980's in school, but this is not the 1980's and you can't bring a knife to school. He gave him 6 months probation, 90 hours of community service, and he had to write a letter why you should not bring a knife to school.
The felony will stay on his record until he is 21 years old. He will not be able to get certain scholarships, vote, and/or enroll in certain colleges. He desires to go to Rice and study computers.
OTHER:
The school officials at our Middle School were very kind to my son. The principal had not been there very long and was not sure of the process. It was painful that everyday after the incident, we would get a call about what to do next. My son had only been in the school for about one month prior to the incident. He had been home schooled.
