Zarchary Christie and the Spork
6-year-old Zachary Christie is a first-grader at Downes Elementary School in Newark, Del., He received a 45-day suspension from school. His crime - he took a camping utensil that contained a spoon, fork, bottle opener and knife (commonly called a spork) to school.
School administrators deemed Zachary to be in violation of their zero-tolerance ban on weapons, and he may have to attend the district's reform school.
Zachary's mother, Debbie Christie, is speaking out against the suspension and saying he should not have to face 45 days of reform school as a consequence.
"I got a call from the principal, telling me to come down, that Zach had carried a dangerous weapon into school and was going to be suspended," Christie told "Good Morning America"
School administrators deemed Zachary to be in violation of their zero-tolerance ban on weapons, and he may have to attend the district's reform school.
The decision has been widely criticized as being too harsh, and Debbie Christie started a Web site with a petition of support that garnered thousands of signatures.
At the school board meeting supporters came out to rally for change. The board relented and changed its rules. Children in kindergarten and first grade will only be faced with a three to five day suspension.