So Why Was Trayvon Suspended?

In my hours of research concerning this case, I happened to run across a bit of interesting information. Something about Trayvon being suspended for 10 days didn't sit well with me. That is quite a bit of time to be suspended from school. Since the official records seem to have been sealed, much of what has been said in the media is speculation and I am having a hard time being able to really confirm anything with certainty.

For the school handbook and code of conduct, click here.

When looking for information concerning suspensions, I found this:

A principal may suspend a student from school for one (1) to ten (10) days for
persistent disobedience and/or serious misconduct. Principals take this action
when they have exhausted informal corrective strategies, or when they have at least
considered those alternatives and rejected them as inappropriate in a given
situation. 

Outdoor suspension is appropriate under the following conditions: 

• The student’s presence in school presents a physical danger to the student or others;
• A “cooling off” period is needed to relieve tensions and relieve pressure; and/or
• The student and/or parent/guardian refuse an alternative to suspension.

Notice how 10 days seems to indicate the maximum amount of time.

If you scroll down and read the handbook some more, you will notice that being in an Unauthorized location is considered to be a Level 1 disruptive behavior and the plans for correcting this behavior and other level 1 infractions do not include 10 days of suspension. For Level 2, the amount of suspension time is between 1 and 5 days, so we can pretty much guarantee that whatever Trayvon did most likely did not fall under this category either.

When we move down to Level 3, things begin to make a little more sense:

LEVEL III
Offensive/Harmful Behaviors
• Assault/Threat against a non-staff member
• Breaking and Entering/Burglary
• Bullying (repeated harassment)*
• Disruption on campus/Disorderly conduct
• Fighting (serious)
• Harassment (Civil Rights)**
• Hazing (misdemeanor)
• Possession or use of alcohol and/or controlled
substances
• Possession of simulated weapons
• Sexual harassment**
• Trespassing
• Vandalism (major)

Oh, look what we have here. The ones I marked in bold are possible things that Trayvon may have done. The suspension time for these would be 10 days. Also Level 4 violations would possibly receive a 10 day suspension:

LEVEL IV
Dangerous or Violent Behaviors
• Battery against a non-staff member
• Grand theft (over $300.00)
• Hate crime
• Hazing (felony)
• Motor vehicle theft
• Other major crimes/incidents
• Sale and/or distribution of alcohol and/or controlled substances
• Sex offenses (other) (including possession and/or
distribution of obscene or lewd materials)
The principal or designee must use the following strategies
from PLAN IV. The use of appropriate strategies from
previous PLANS may also be used in conjunction with
this PLAN.
PLAN IV
• Parent/guardian contact*
• Suspension from school for one to ten days**
• Recommendation for alternative educational setting
• Recommendation for expulsion.

 Also, for Level 5, we see some of these violations would also land a 10-day suspension:

LEVEL V
Most Serious, Dangerous or Violent Behaviors
• Aggravated assault
• Aggravated battery against a non-staff member
• Armed robbery
• Arson
• Assault/Threat against M-DCPS employees or persons
conducting official business
• Battery or Aggravated battery against M-DCPS employees
or persons conducting official business*
• Homicide
• Kidnapping/Abduction
• Making a false report/threat against the school*
• Sexual battery
• Possession, use, sale, or distribution of firearms, explosives,
destructive devices, and other weapons.*

Of course, we don't know for sure but we know it would have to be something from Level 3 and above. It is very doubtful that he was suspended for 10 days because of an empty baggie that once contained marijuana.  Either he had marijuana in that bag or they know he may have been selling. When we look at the different Levels of misconduct, we also see that attacking a bus driver would also fall under these Levels. This gives merit to the Tweets that were made concerning Trayvon taking a swing on a bus driver and the date of that Tweet shows it to be around the time Trayvon was suspended from school.

If this is true, then it should be very obvious why the Martin's lawyer worked so quickly to seal Trayvon's school records. Clearly this would be extremely damaging, since it would lend favor into demonstrating that Trayvon was violent and very likely to approach Zimmerman, as well as being the first to initiate a fight.

This is all speculation, of course but, I cannot deny that I most certainly believe in Zimmerman's innocence at this point.