Brian Wood did what any honest kid would when his class entered the county jail on a field trip. He handed over his small pocketknife to a deputy - and wound up expelled from school for violating its weapons policy.

His parents stood by him and fought school officials to the state Supreme Court, where arguments were heard last week. A ruling is expected in several months."We want to make sure something like this doesn't happen to some other student," said Larry Wood, Brian's father.

Brian's father gave him the 2 1/2-inch blade knife - a promotional item from a snuff maker - in March 1996. He put it in his jeans pocket, left it there and the next day wore the same jeans to Bassett High School, about 30 miles south of Roanoke.

Brian was told he would be suspended for 10 days and his mother, Lavonne Wood, said school officials assured her Brian would be back in school soon.

Instead, he was called in for a disciplinary hearing for what officials called a "severe act of misbehavior." The panel recommended a yearlong expulsion.

The school board ruled the boy violated its weapons policy and state code that allows students to be expelled for carrying a firearm to a school-sponsored event. The board expelled him for the semester and provided him with a teacher at home.

They didn't allow Brian to attend his sister's high school graduation that June.

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"I feel like the student was given due process and appropriate discipline according to school board policy," said David Martin, the Henry County school superintendent.

The Woods' lawsuit alleged that the school board did not afford Brian due process or give him a proper chance to defend himself. Brian was punished twice, they said - first with a suspension and then the expulsion.

Circuit Judge David Williams ruled in June 1996 that the knife could not be considered a firearm but that Brian had violated the school district's knife policy. He sent the case back to the school board, which upheld the expulsion.

Brian has since transferred to Patrick County High School, 22 miles away, where he is a senior honor student.

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