Disability rights advocates said kids like Ty should not be getting arrested under Tennessee’s school threats law. And they tried to push for a broader exception for kids with other kinds of disabilities. It didn’t work.
  • glimse@lemmy.world
    186·
    8 days ago

    His autism didn’t spark fear…saying the school would blow up if anyone looked in his backpack sparked fear. He should not have been arrested but c’mon, if a kid I just met said that to me I’d call the front office, too.

    he told his teacher he didn’t want anyone to look in his backpack […] When the teacher asked why, Ty responded, “Because the whole school will blow up,”

    Arresting him was overreacting. Perceiving his words as a threat was not

    • ieatpwns@lemmy.world
      311·
      8 days ago

      He wasn’t wrong. Someone looked in his bag and the whole situation got blown up out of proportion over a bunny

    • Nuke_the_whales@lemmy.world
      10·
      8 days ago

      Some kid randomly saying that and you don’t know him, ok. But the school was aware he’s autistic, so why did they suddenly forget?

      • glimse@lemmy.world
        2·
        8 days ago

        I am saying the admins acted poorly but the teacher was justifiably scared.

        The teacher, who had only known Ty for one day, called a school administrator

    • atzanteol@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
      2·
      8 days ago

      Yeah - calling the admin was definitely the right thing to do. Even involving the police as reasonable (the whole world would be jumping all over the teachers and admin if they ignored it and something happened).

      But goddamn everything after that is a clusterfuck. This law is the perfect example of “well meaning but stupid” legislation that has side effects that were entirely foreseeable but somehow a “shock” to the people who voted for it.