After the success of getting the Christina School District to amend their code of conduct and let Zachary Christie back into school, another victim of the school district’s zero tolerance policy came to attention. 13 year old Kyle Hebert was bullied and tormented (even had a florescent light smashed over his head) all last school year. When he went to school staff to complain he was told to fight back, to lie about what happened, not to tattle tale, and other crap that the teachers & administration at the George V. Kirk Middle School in Newark, Delaware thought it was fine to tell Kyle- trying to bury the issue and have it forgotten (this is against school/district policy & Delaware’s anti-bullying law of 2007). One day after some bullying, one of the cruel bullies dropped a pocket knife into Kyle’s lap and shout something like “Kyle has a knife!”. Let’s read that sentence again. One day after some bullying, one of the cruel bullies dropped a pocket knife into Kyle’s lap and shout something like “Kyle has a knife!”. Guess what happened? Kyle got suspended and was told that he must attend one of Delaware’s “alternative” schools (this are reform schools for actual juvenile delinquents). His mother, Dodi Hebert, started to home-school Kyle instead, refusing to let her son go to an alternative school. She also plans to pull her younger son out of school at the end of this school year. Dodi has lost all faith in the Christina School District. She even has EVIDENCE that her son Kyle was framed. So far school district officials and the School Board have not helped Dodi Hebert one bit. They sit there with the most dumbfounded looks on their face everytime they hear this, as I witnessed last night at the School Board meeting at Porter Road Elementary School when Dodi addressed the School Board members. At the time of the incident with Kyle, she did not reach out to media to get her son’s story out. Now with the national media coverage and outrage that Zachary Christie’s case got, Dodi is now looking to make some noise.

Now, to say that this is rare would be not right. The Christina School District’s zero tolerance policy has also made other children victims of it. How about the girl that brought the birthday cake to school and the cake knife. The teacher cut the cake with it and then went to the principal. The little girl got suspended. Another little girl brought an exacto/X-Acto knife to school to help her with an art project. Suspended.

The state of Delaware has even passed legislation telling the schools & school districts that they need to look at each case individually and determine what to do from there. Did Christina School District or the School Board even bother to THINK with an open mind instead of following the policy to the letter? NO. They ALL need to be held accountable for the injustices brought against all of these children.

Get involved. Make noise. Question the schools & districts. Talk to your legislature. Talk to the media! Talk on the Internet!

These problems must be fixed!