Schools were once thought to be the safest place you could send your kids. Nowadays, you have to worry about shootings, bomb threats, etc.

Frankly, you can't fault schools or the administration whether or not they are safe enough. It's about time we hold these children responsible for these actions rather than a simple slap on the wrist and releasing them back to their parents. I commend the teacher who was able to intercept the note and thankfully no one was hurt. But, these days, it seems like the only time things get churning is when a child gets hurt or killed. It's all the buzz until the next school shooting or bomb threat. When are we as a society going to wake up? It's only been a few weeks since the VT tragedy but the buzz is over with. Now we'll focus on these two girls until the next shooting or threat. Same cycle, no solution.

A question to be asked is about the law that limits the school systems from suspending students who are identified with a disability. Often, this is the reason students are allowed back to school, or not suspended. School's can't discuss it because its a matter of confidential information. When the community discusses it they they are sexist, racist, elitist or some other bad thing.

Schools often cannot operate with common sense because of the rules they must play under. All school systems work very hard to maintain safety, I truly do believe it is priority one in the schools I interact with.

I completely agree with Chris' comment. Not only can schools not suspend students if their behavior is related to their disability, but schools are punished if they have high suspension rates. Under no child left behind, schools with high suspension rates do not make adequate yearly progress (AYP) which over a period of time can result in the state taking over their school. As a result, school administrations at times are not able to suspend students because of the fear that they will be labeled persistently dangerous. In fact at a school that my friend teaches at she was told that there will be no more suspensions for the rest of the school year. Instead of looking negatively on schools that are trying to hold students accountable for their bad behavior, we should look negatively on our politicians that pass these ridiculous laws!

My research shows that school based mental health services improve the mental health, behavior, and commitment to school, while reducing disciplinary referrals and suspensions among "at risk" youth. We can identify youth needing help and give them services before it gets to the critical stage.