Girl suspended for bringing butter knife to school

ATTLEBORO, Mass. — A 13-year-old middle school student in Attleboro was suspended from school for one day because she brought a butter knife to school.

Morgan LaPlume wears braces and needed the butter knife to cut a pear.

No one at the LaPlume house answered the door Friday, and phone calls were not returned.

According to The Sun Chronicle, the assistant principal at Wamsutta Middle School saw Morgan with the butter knife Wednesday, and took her to the principal's office.

Morgan's mother was called and was told even though she's a "good kid" that the school had to enforce the policy. The student was suspended for one day, Thursday.

A schoolmate of Morgan's lives nearby and said she understands why a butter knife would be needed to cut a pear.

"Probably because she can't eat it whole because she has braces, she needs to cut it up," said Meghan Healy, a seventh-grader. "Well, I know she's a good student and she usually doesn't get in trouble, so I don't think she should have gotten suspended for it.

Meghan's older sister, Jennifer, told NBC 10 that even if the school handbook says no knives, administrators should use a little more discretion when it comes to enforcing the policy.

"I think a butter knife can probably do as much harm as the plastic knives they have in the cafeteria, so I think it was kind of silly that they're suspending her over it," Jennifer Healy said.

In light of heightened security at schools across the country because of violent incidents over the years, some see both sides.

"Zero tolerance, butter knife, I think maybe the mother should have thought twice about giving her it," said Vannak Sao, of Attleboro. "It wasn't a machete. As far as suspension, that might be a little overboard."

No one was available to talk from the Wamsutta Middle School or the Attleboro school district, which were closed because of Good Friday.