Paula Mosteller told the Associated Press she could not believe her son received a suspension for a drawing. "I just can't believe that there wasn't another way to resolve this," she said. She and her husband, Ben Mosteller, were able to get the suspension reduced from five to three days after meeting with school officials.
The Mostellers say that the drawing was a harmless doodle of a fake laser and did not show blood, bullets or targets.
Chandler Unified School District officials, however, have put the sketch in question into the student's file.
They have defended their zero-tolerance policy, which they say responds to mounting fears over school security. Earlier this month, Payne's principal sent a letter home to parents, informing them of an unrelated incident in which a student brought a gun to school. Police later found the gun to be a fake.
Craig Gilbert, Chandler director of secondary education, said that a second student was also was suspended in connection with the incident, which took place on Monday.
