Wrongful Arrest

In my young adult novel, Strays, the main character, Iris, gets arrested for threatening her teacher, both physically and on paper. A question I've gotten from people has been, "Could that really happen?" "Are schools that strict about threats?" 

Well, this week, I think the case against the 9th grader who was arrested for building a clock (no easy engineering feat!) answers that question. Like Iris, Ahmed, the maker of the clock (the school thought it was a bomb) was placed in handcuffs and taken to a juvenile detention center.

Ahmed's school eventually issued him an apology and invited him back, but he said no thanks. And I don't blame him. 

So what do you think? Are schools too quick to assume the worst from their students? 

This photo first appeared courtesy of the Dallas Morning News.