The case itself was meritorious, but some of the dissenting justices had fears that now are being realized. He might have had a school in Oswego, N.Y., in mind. In February, five fourth graders at Hastings-Mallory Elementary School were suspended for two days for violating the discipline code for sexual harassment. A mother of one of the boys said the punishment was too harsh since her son didn't even know what sexual harassment was. Obviously, school officials didn't either.
Sexual harassment includes unwanted contact or verbal abuse.
How that pertains to a milk carton is a mystery to me. In a celebrated case in Maine in May, a district attorney actually was going to prosecute three third-grade boys accused of forcing themselves on a female classmate during two recesses. The rational response would have been to punish the boys, get them therapy and step up playground supervision. Even considering jail time was absurd. Clearly, what's missing here is a sensible balance between willful ignorance and hysterical overreaction.