kvue.com

A woman in Georgia is questioning her son’s three-day suspension after school officials said the 8-year-old brought a small LEGO creation resembling a gun to class, sparking debate over zero-tolerance discipline policies for young students. “This is the weapon they say my child had,” the boy’s mother said while holding the LEGO creation. “This is clarified as a weapon to the school district.” The mother said her son, who has autism and ADHD, did not threaten anyone or behave aggressively. “My child did not go to school and say anything harmful or bad,” she said. “They could have simply explained to him, ‘Hey, we cannot build things that we think are a weapon or look like a gun.’” She said she received a phone call from the school principal informing her that her son had brought a weapon to school.

The school district said it could not comment on individual student disciplinary matters, but a spokesperson said the district’s code of conduct outlines different levels of infraction.