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Learning and
Conditioning
9
High School Student Arrested after
Science Experiment
BARTOW, FL, May 1, 2013. A Bartow High School student has
been expelled after being arrested last week when a science
experiment she performed on the school grounds produced a
small explosion. Kiera Wilmont, 16, mixed some toilet bowl
cleaner with aluminum foil in a small water bottle, a proce-
dure she saw on YouTube. The bottle’s top popped off and
there was some smoke, but no one was injured and there was
no property damage. Nonetheless, Kiera was handcuffed and
taken into custody and charged with two felonies: possession
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or discharge of a weapon on school grounds and discharge of
a destructive device.
Although the teenager is reportedly a good student who is
interested in robotics and science and has never before been
in trouble with the law, the school district issued a statement
saying that it had an obligation to enforce its code of conduct.
In the aftermath of a horrific school shooting in
Columbine, Colorado, in 1999, many schools across the
United States instituted zero-tolerance or other inflexible
discipline policies. These policies were aimed at reducing
drug abuse and violence, but over the years, many school-
based arrests have been made for relatively minor infrac-
tions, without taking into account the child’s age, intent,
or character. A 6-year-old who was excited about going on
Cub Scout campouts was suspended for bringing a camp-
ing utensil with a small fork, knife, and spoon to school.
An honor student was expelled for carrying a nail clipper.
A third grader was expelled because her grandmother sent a
birthday cake to school along with a knife to cut it. A seventh
grader was charged with battery for throwing a Tootsie Pop at
a friend. A kindergartener was suspended for using a finger
as a fake “gun.” Older students have been severely disci-
plined for possessing such “drugs” as cough drops or Midol
(used for menstrual cramps).
In 2012, Florida apparently had the largest “school-to-
prison pipeline” in the United States. Some 12,000 stu-
dents were arrested that year, with more than two-thirds of
the arrests being for offenses such as fistfights, dress-code
violations, and talking back. The number of documented ar-
rests was actually a drop from the 2005 high of 28,000.
Across the U.S., children have been suspended or even arrested on
felony charges for minor violations of “zero-tolerance” school policies.
Zachary Christie, age 6, was briefly suspended for bringing this camp-
ing utensil to school.
