Court Upholds Suspension of 10-Year-Old Over Violent Drawing

NEW YORK — Last Thursday, a federal appeals court upheld the suspension of a 10-year-old boy who drew a picture depicting his desire to blow up his school and teachers.

The parents of the boy claimed the boy’s drawing was protected under the First Amendment, the Associated Press reports. The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said that if the school failed to respond to the incident it might have eroded parental confidence in school safety.

The decision to uphold the suspension was not unanimous: Judge Rosemary Pooler said that drawing was actually portraying a paintball game rather than a violent fantasy, and “it was a crude joke.”

Read the full story.

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