SCHOOL EXPULSION RATE RISES

49 Kicked Out In 2003-2004

The Madison school district expelled 49 students in the 2003-2004
school year, the highest number of expulsions in at least a decade,
for offenses that ranged from sexual assault to wielding a pencil as a
weapon.

The most common offenses were drug-related. According to numbers
released by the district today, 13 students were expelled for being
involved in a drug deal. Another five were expelled for possessing a
drug or controlled substance "with the intent to deliver."

Physical attacks and weapons offenses accounted for most of the
remaining expulsions. The district listed seven cases in which a
student attacked another student and five cases in which a student
attacked a staff member.

The district listed 13 expulsions for possessing a weapon or
threatening to use a weapon. These students most often armed
themselves with a knife, but one student was listed as having a knife
and a hammer. Other weapons included a BB gun, a belt, brass knuckles,
a broom handle and a pencil.

One expulsion was due to "a serious sexual assault" and another came
from making a bomb threat. Three students were kicked out for
repeatedly disobeying school rules.