Taylor Hess unknowingly dropped a bread knife in the back of his pickup after a night delivery of his grandmother’s belongings to a Goodwill. When it was seen by a Hurst, Texas, policeman in the school parking lot, it was enough to get him in big trouble. (SPENCER WEINER / LAT)
When Taylor Hess and his family helped grandmother Rose Kenvin move into an assisted-living home, they also cleared out unneeded housewares. At first the family didn’t want her to know how her knife led to his expulsion. (SPENCER WEINER / LAT)
When Gay Hess reached her husband, Robert, left, at work to tell him that their son Taylor was in trouble at his high school, she told him, “You’re not going to believe this.” (SPENCER WEINER / LAT)
The Hesses live in Bedford, part of the Hurst-Euless-Bedford Independent School District, between Dallas and Fort Worth. Families here welcomed zero-tolerance policies as fears rose after the killings at Columbine High School. (SPENCER WEINER / LAT)
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Taylor Hess, a swim team member, says that Principal Jim Short knew him well. He had congratulated Taylor for being regional backstroke champ. (SPENCER WEINER / LAT)
L.D. Bell Principal Jim Short says at first his heart told him to ignore the discovery of the knife, but state and school codes gave him no latitude. (SPENCER WEINER / LAT)
Gene Buinger, superintendent of the Hurst-Euless-Bedford School District. (SPENCER WEINER / LAT)
Taylor Hess, second from left, hangs out with his friends at home. (SPENCER WEINER / LAT)
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Gay Hess says she thought it ironic that their family had always wanted to make schools safer. She never expected that, for the sake of safety, a bread knife would knock her son out of school. (SPENCER WEINER / LAT)
