At last. At long last.

It seems there are some people in Tallahassee who actually look at a plastic utensil used to spread Cheese Whiz and think: That's not a knife.

Too often, zero-tolerance laws have resulted in students facing charges that are so patently absurd that it's a challenge to cover these stories with a straight face. Invariably, when school officials are asked to explain why a child should face expulsion for violating the strictest possible interpretation of "carrying a weapon to school," they fall back on, "It's a zero-tolerance policy."

Sounds more like a zero-discretion policy, and it's refreshing to see officials putting discretion back where it belongs: in the hands of those who witness these alleged violations and enforce the rules in the first place.

According to the Associated Press article:

Sen. Stephen Wise, R-Jacksonville, said his bill (SB 1540) would save money and prevent children from having criminal records by requiring that schools handle such disciplinary matters administratively. “Throw an eraser and they want to call it throwing a deadly missile, which is a felony,” Wise told the Senate panel. “When you get into the juvenile justice system everybody thinks your sins are forgiven when you turn 18, and I will assure you that doesn’t happen. It’s a blemish on your record.”

In 2005 an 11-year-old Hernando County girl was arrested for allegedly bringing a plastic butter knife to school. She was handcuffed, taken to jail and charged with a third-degree felony. A 15-year-old boy at the same school that year received three weeks of house arrest for throwing a pencil that hit a custodian on the shoulder.

In 2003... a 13-year-old Brandon student was suspended because his calculator had a knife-like gadget.

What's your take?