ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, November 24, 1996 TAG: 9611250182
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
A Newport News kindergartner recently brought a phone beeper from home and showed it to classmates during a school field trip to a pumpkin patch.
A teacher saw the 5-year-old boy with the beeper, and the child was suspended. The boy's mother said he apparently took the device from a kitchen counter because he liked the noise it makes.
The incident made national news as the latest case of a pupil being disciplined for a seemingly minor violation of school rules.
About the same time, a Salem first-grader brought a beeper to school. The child apparently was using it to tell time because it could operate like a clock, school officials said.
State law makes it illegal for students and others to have beepers on school property unless they have a legitimate reason. The devices are often associated with drug dealing.
There are exemptions for principals, teachers, security officers and rescue workers.
The Salem principal called Superintendent Wayne Tripp and asked him for advice on dealing with the case. Tripp told the principal to use "common sense and discretion."
School officials called the child's parents and told them that the child had the beeper, which violated school rules as well as state law.
"The parents were chagrined, but the child was not suspended," Tripp said. "Children at that age don't fully understand what they've done. We worked it out, and the parents agreed that the child shouldn't bring the beeper to school any more."
There was no publicity about the case.
Salem school officials treat the possession of beepers by middle and high school students seriously and discipline the students, Tripp said. There have been a few cases involving beepers on school property, but they have not been a significant problem in Salem, he said.
But Tripp believes some schools across the country have gone too far recently in punishing small children for violations of the beeper ban and other school rules.
"When you get so hidebound and you go over the edge in sticking to the rules sometimes, you can begin to look foolish," Tripp said.
"Some schools have gotten bad ink recently for some poor decisions [in disciplinary cases] because they haven't used common sense and judgment," he said.
James Gallion, Roanoke County's assistant superintendent, agreed that suspending a kindergartner for having a beeper seems to be an inappropriate punishment.
He doesn't recall any elementary children having brought beepers to county schools, but he doubts the county would suspend them for such a violation.
"I think we would look at the whole situation. I doubt a kindergartner understands the significance of having a beeper," Gallion said. "You have to consider punishment that is age and grade appropriate."
County schools have suspended several high school and junior high students for having beepers on school property, he said. Students can be suspended up to 10 days for possessing a beeper, but most suspensions have been for three to five days, he said.
Gallion said the county has also filed charges against high school and junior high students who have brought beepers to school, and several have been fined.
Superintendent Wayne Harris said he's not aware that any elementary children have brought beepers to Roanoke schools, but he added that it would make for a tough discipline decision.
"I'd figure out a way for the child to continue their education," he said, but there might still be some type of punishment.
Harris recalled that Roanoke expelled a 10-year-old fourth-grader two years ago for bringing a gun to school.
The schools can't tolerate guns or other weapons regardless of the age of the students, he said. Roanoke has also expelled elementary pupils who have brought knives to school.
"We've had some beepers in schools, but not a bunch of them," Harris said. The city's punishment for possession of a beeper ranges from a conference with the student and parents to expulsion. Students also are charged with violating the state law.
Most of the beeper cases are tried in juvenile court and do not attract public attention. But a Roanoke man was sentenced to 30 days in jail two years ago for carrying a beeper onto the campus of Patrick Henry High School. Testimony disclosed that the man went to the school to confront a student on a personal matter.
Prosecutors said that some students apparently carry beepers to school because they think it "looks cool" even though they are not dealing in drugs.
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