Civil Liberties

Teen Girl Suspended for Saying 'Bless You' After Classmate Sneezed

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Sneeze
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Not to be outdone by Summerville High School in South Carolina—where writing about shooting dinosaurs can get you arrested—Dyer County High School in Tennessee has suspended a teenage girl for saying "bless you" after a classmate sneezed.

That's according to the girl's account of events, reports CBS Charlotte:

Kendra Turner, a senior at Dyer County High School, said bless you to her classmate who sneezed and the teacher told her that the term was for church.

"She said that we're not going to have godly speaking in her class and that's when I said we have a constitutional right," Turner told WMC.

When she defended her actions, the teacher told Turner to see an administrator. The student said that she had to finish the class period in in-school suspension.

The girl's parents were told by school leaders that their daughter shouted "bless you" across the room and that it was a classroom distraction.

School officials told her parents Tuesday that the teacher claimed that their daughter was aggressive and disruptive.

If she was truly aggressive and disruptive, I suppose that's grounds for suspension. Maybe the girl was looking for a showdown, and knew this was the best way to get one.

But given all the nonsensical excuses school administrators find to hand out suspensions, I wouldn't be surprised to learn that the officials are the ones exaggerating matters.