My daughters problem

[level.eleven]

When this is all said and done, IGG, you should offer a class in self restraint. You could make millions. I admire your approach and can only hope I would respond the same way. I would have lost it when the bureaucrat looked me right in the face and offered up the "touched" excuse.

 

[SavageEagle]

In addition to fighting to have this removed from your daughters record, what about fighting to have the zero tolerance policy eliminated or replaced with rules like most schools have that are open to circumstance? You could make a real positive change for hundreds if not thousands of students... Just a thought.

 

[INGunGuy]

I had a VERY productive phone call with Senator Connie Sipes about Rachae's problem. She told me she used to be a grade school principal, and there was no way she would have handled the situation as it was handled.

A few really good bits of information, Senator Sipes is going to come to the next school board meeting and stand in support of Rachael. She also asked my permission to read the letter I had sent to her on the Senate floor. Well of course I told her it was fine to read anywhere she wanted to read it. Now this last thing is a real big deal, she told me she was going to draft legislation doing away with these kinds of zero-tolerance policies. That was way cool, IMHO. She also game me her home number to call if there are any other reasons I need to call her. Well +1 to Senator Sipes!

I will continue to update as I have more info.

WAY TO GO RACHAEL!!!

INGunGuy

 

[Woodsman]

I had a VERY productive phone call with Senator Connie Sipes about Rachae's problem. She told me she used to be a grade school principal, and there was no way she would have handled the situation as it was handled.

A few really good bits of information, Senator Sipes is going to come to the next school board meeting and stand in support of Rachael. She also asked my permission to read the letter I had sent to her on the Senate floor. Well of course I told her it was fine to read anywhere she wanted to read it. Now this last thing is a real big deal, she told me she was going to draft legislation doing away with these kinds of zero-tolerance policies. That was way cool, IMHO. She also game me her home number to call if there are any other reasons I need to call her. Well +1 to Senator Sipes!

I will continue to update as I have more info.

WAY TO GO RACHAEL!!!

INGunGuy

Outstanding. This is why you have to fight when this crap happens. Rolling over only emboldens the people who start this stuff.

 

[INGunGuy]

I just got off the phone with Senator Sipes's office and Representative Stemler's offices wanting to set up a personal meeting with me on Monday. I will keep everyone informed of the outcome.

WAY TO GO RACHAEL!!!

INGunGuy

 

[Fishersjohn48]

Awesome! Keep up the fight for what is right. WAY TO GO RACHAEL! Also thanks for sharing this story. I have used it as a teaching lesson for my sons.

 

[DoctorJ32174]

Sure is refreshing to see all the support for this gal. Too many people bury their heads in the sand on issues like this. Keep it up!

 

[ArmedProgrammer]

IGG - This is GREAT news! Glad to hear that they are jumping in to help out. Keep up the fight! Perhaps this will spread to other school districts in the area...

And for Rachael : One person CAN indeed make a difference! And every decision that we make (or don't make...) MATTERS...

 

[jedi]

The system "still" works! S-l-o-w-l-y but it looks like it still is working. This really warms my heart and resorts my faith that the system can "still" be saved!

 

[Seancass]

I will continue to update as I have more info.

WAY TO GO RACHAEL!!!

That is amazing(the senator part)! Way to fight! I was so mad reading you frist post that my face was getting hot! Then i realised it was a few days old so i read on. A few reps from me on ingo is not nearly enough to show how much i support your actions. Situations like this are rediculous and i'm glad you're doing your part to fight it!

 

[T-rav]

Way to fight the good fight!!!! This is proof that there are still good people out there!!

 

[samskxtreme]

That story is just a prime example of how good rules (laws) are turned around to screw over good people. I have a question. Lets say your brother is ill, and you go to get his medicine off the kitchen counter and give it to him to take. Should you go to jail now for being in posession of a controlled substance? Uh Oh.

 

[HoosierPatriot]

WTG Your daughter has learned well

 

[Brown]

OUTSTANDING! definate +1 to the Senator for not only listening to your story but taking a personal interest in it to change such ridiculous (sp) laws where common sense should kick in.

Your daughter Rachel did SO WELL, WAY TO GO RACHEL! and way to you also IN GUY for taking the fight to them and not rolling over

 

[Libertarian01]

IndianaGunGuy,

This sounds very promising and I wish you all the best. As things seem to be rolling forward I would think about keeping an exact timeline of who you talked to and what was discussed along with what was generally agreed to.

To All,

THIS ISN'T OVER!

Everything is looking really good but do NOT get your hopes up! I have seen this happen with a good friend who was fighting drug dealers in his front yard. Eventually they threw molotov coctails at his home. No one has been caught, convicted, or even accused! But the police took reports, they listened, they sympathized...

Rachel still has a mark against her. Rachel is seeing her mother and father fight the good fight. But nothing has changed! When I say nothing I mean that any mark against her has been permanently removed. I want action, not meetings or talk. Meetings and talk are the beginning of change, not the end result.

I will be very happy to see the post that says "Rachel has been cleared of any wrongdoing, the school board and administration has apologized for any trouble this incident may have caused AND our zero tolerance policy has been thrown out."

I don't want to douse any hopes. I really don't! It is that I have simply seen this before: We will hold your hand, we will listen, we sympathize: We are sorry but right now our hands are tied! We will form a committee to review the system.

Please help IGG keep the pressure on these people to act and act quickly. The longer you give bureaucrats and elected officials to act the less likely anything will get done.

Regards,

Doug

PS - Don't take this the wrong way! You seem to be doing an excellent job and things look like they are on the right path. It's just that I see you on the path, not at the destination. I wish the best for you and Rachel!!!

 

[INGunGuy]

You are correct, the fight is not even close to being over. The fight will be over when Rachael's record is cleared of this incident. As for changing school policy, lets just say that I have the backing of the school board president, 2 other members of the school board, 2 city council members, and my Senator and Representative who all feel that the policy should be changed. Interesting enough, a city council member e-mailed me because they have a child still in Greater Clark county schools, and they had no idea the policy was written they way it was. I e-mailed them back because even though the school policy has no definition of possession, the SCOTUS has ruled that for someone to be convicted of possession, there must be intent. Just like in one of my previous examples, just because I am sitting at a light, and a crack head being chased by the police runs past my car and throws a bag of dope in my back seat, there is no intent to possess, so the police would NOT charge me with possession... Just something to ponder on.

INGunGuy

 

[mrjarrell]

Looks like you made the big time!
Wave 3 picked the story up. And so did Radley Balko at the Agitator, ( it showed up in his lunchtime links). Keep this up and it'll be all over the place in no time! Contact Radley (a native Hoosier) and maybe he can spread it a bit further. He is a journalist.

 

[Johnny C]

Good job Rachael.
Sometimes, bad things happen to good people, and sometimes, doing whats right gets you in trouble.
Dont stop doing whats right though...hold your head high for being persecuted by stupid people.

Of course if they are just following the Zero tollerance rulebook, they had to do what they did, its the rules that need to be changed.


When I was in high school in Indy in 1980, Some fellow walked up to my brother and punched him in the face...for nothing... then ran off.

I was stunned, as was my big brother. He gathered up his books and we began to walk home.

School security drove up and asked him his name, and told him to come back to the school.

He got expelled for 2 weeks for getting punched in the face and he didnt do ANYTHING !

That was before zero tollerance, but it goes to show you what fools some people in charge can be.

 

[jedi]

He got expelled for 2 weeks for getting punched in the face and he didnt do ANYTHING!

He got punsihed becuase he did NOTHING! Back then school was for the young ones to make mistakes and learn. The mistake your bother made was NOT FIGHTING BACK.

I recall in middle school our gym teacher (early 90s) would tell us that men at times had to resolve their issues via the fist. If that was the case you took your issues outside to the park down the street after school.

Many a fights occured on that park playground between kids (one on one) and many of those kids end up best of buds afterwards or learned how to tolerate the other one afterwards.

 

[rich8483]

Good job Rachael.
Sometimes, bad things happen to good people, and sometimes, doing whats right gets you in trouble.
Dont stop doing whats right though...hold your head high for being persecuted by stupid people.

Of course if they are just following the Zero tollerance rulebook, they had to do what they did, its the rules that need to be changed.


When I was in high school in Indy in 1980, Some fellow walked up to my brother and punched him in the face...for nothing... then ran off.

I was stunned, as was my big brother. He gathered up his books and we began to walk home.

School security drove up and asked him his name, and told him to come back to the school.

He got expelled for 2 weeks for getting punched in the face and he didnt do ANYTHING !

That was before zero tollerance, but it goes to show you what fools some people in charge can be.

this does not surprise me at all! i also "got into a fight" in high school. the agresser got the same punishment as me. no such thing as self defense or "he started it" lucky for us it was a saturday school, no two week expulsion. but ontop of that, the fight was off of school grounds. i ran into the kid somewhere else and school still saw it necessary to punish us as if they were involved.