Small children have been getting into deep trouble at school lately, and some parents say it's because educators are hypersensitive in the wake of the mass shooting at a Connecticut elementary school in December. One of the most well-publicized cases was that of a 5-year-old in the Mount Carmel Area School District in eastern Pennsylvania, who told friends while they waited for a bus that she was going to shoot them with a Hello Kitty toy that makes soap bubbles.

She's one of plenty of elementary-age children in Pennsylvania who are punished over weapons violations. How many of the younger kids actually posed a threat? One clue may be found in Pennsylvania's definition of a weapon. It includes guns and knives, but also encompasses ordinary objects, such as scissors and bottles, that can potentially be used to harm others. A look at weapons violations punishments in Pennsylvania schools over the past four years:

—Out-of-school suspensions in kindergarten through sixth grade: 3,674

—Expulsions in kindergarten through sixth grade: 429

—Kindergarteners suspended: 97

—First-graders suspended: 308

Source: Pennsylvania Department of Education