Ask any parent in Henry County whether a 6-year-old understands boundaries and you will probably discover that not many do. Boundaries, personal space and touch are all things young children are curious about, but many will stop once told their behavior is inappropriate. There is growing concern, however, that some schools in Georgia and across the country are severely punishing very young pupils for sometimes minor behavior.

One 6-year-old was recently suspended from school and had a note put in his permanent record after his school accused him of sexually assaulting a boy in recess. Most people can't imagine such a young child would have the mindset to commit a sexual assault on another boy or even how such an incident could happen under the watchful eyes of teachers, but his school insisted the first grader touched another boy's upper thigh or possibly his genitals.

His mother, however, says that the boys were playing tag and that any contact that happened was definitely not sexual in nature. Despite the mother's protests the school's principal filed a letter in the boy's permanent record that said he had "committed or attempted to commit a sexual assault or battery." While the boy was too young to be criminally charged, a school record that says he sexually assaulted someone would negatively affect him long after he left the elementary school.

After the mother hired a lawyer and looked into taking legal action against the school, the principal removed the letter from the boy's record and transferred him to another school.

Sadly, this kind of overzealous reaction to simple mistakes or inadvertent contact is happening all over the country. On the other side of the country, a 7-year-old boy was charged with sexual harassment after he kicked another boy in the groin during a school fight. Rather than subject the boy to criminal charges and long-lasting punishment by altering his permanent record, schools should look into more appropriate punishments for misbehaving students.

Source: The New York Times, "A Touch During Recess, and Reaction Is Swift," Scott James, Jan. 26, 2012