ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, June 20, 1996 TAG: 9606200074
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-3 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: MARTINSVILLE
SOURCE: Associated Press
The Henry County School Board made a mistake when it expelled a high school student for carrying a pocketknife, citing state laws banning weapons in schools, a circuit court judge ruled.
Circuit Judge David Williams ruled Tuesday that the laws do not apply to the case of 16-year-old Brian Wood because they do not specifically mention pocketknives.
The weapons listed in Virginia's laws include pistols, revolvers, switchblade knives, ballistic knives, razors, slingshots, spring sticks, metal knucks, blackjacks, throwing stars and ``any weapon of like kind.''
Wood was suspended from Bassett High School after a March school field trip to the Henry County Jail during which he took a 5-inch knife from his pocket and gave it to a jail employee.
Wood was expelled April 6 and received home instruction until the end of the school year.
In his written decision, Williams said Wood did violate the School Board's code of student conduct regarding knives., which states that a student cannot ``possess, handle or transport a knife while at school or during an off-site school-sponsored activity.''
The penalties for students who violate the conduct policy are determined on a case-by-case basis, with suspension and expulsion among the options, said Henry County Superintendent J. David Martin
He asked that the School Board reconsider the violation and punishment meted out to Wood.
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