An Illinois appeals court majority recently sided with a school board for expelling a 13-year-old student for bringing a loaded pellet gun to school, while a dissenting judge found that the boy faced a “zero-tolerance policy” in light of recent school shootings.

In an opinion issued Nov. 27, the Illinois First District Appellate Court majority ruled that the Board of Education for the Summit School District, located in the Chicago metropolitan area, applied the proper punishment by expelling a middle school student for a year for possessing a loaded pellet gun in his backpack.