Bad touch: hands off at school.

• Author: Blanks, Jonathan
• Position: Citings - Kilmer Middle School - Brief article

IN JUNE, Kilmer Middle School reprimanded 13-year-old Hal Beaulieu. The offense: hugging his girlfriend. The Virginia public school's rules include an unqualified "no physical contact" policy.

According to a report in The Washington Post, Principal Deborah Hernandez justifies the policy by saying her overcrowded school needs order and she'd rather not get "into shades of gray" when trying to distinguish appropriate from inappropriate touching. She also argues that touching could lead to violence or even signify gang membership. "You have to have an absolute rule with students, and wiggle...