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Basic question is the current zero tolerance used in schools fair and balanced?
Weapons aside alot of kids get expelled ,or punished, for infractions of a policy that is defies common sense in most cases. I'm glad our sons are grown so I don't have to deal with this insane system......
Zero tolerance cannot be fair or balanced. It applies a one size fits all mentality to all problems. It doesn't work and causes all kinds of problems. It's a code for automatic punishment.
Schools are in a bit of a tough situation. While zero tolerance laws seem silly and defy common sense, they can also provide legal cover. There are plenty of situations where parents raise hell over the area the zero tolerance law covers. The threat (or actual occurrence) of a lawsuit from a parent whose kid was hurt during some roughhousing or who went into shock from a peanut exposure is what leads to much of the zero tolerance stuff - it's a preventive measure.
That said, I think they aren't necessarily effective. Sensible and consistent responses within a clearly communicated framework would be better.
I worked in a system in Tennessee several years ago that had a zero tolerance policy, in regard to drugs, alcohol, and weapons. The first year the policy was in place, the local sheriff's department got a drug sniffing dog. They would randomly run the dog through the local high school parking lot and if the dog "hit" on a car they had "just cause" to search and then arrest the student driver. On one occasion the "hit" did not produce drugs, but "a seed" which law enforcement claimed to be weed. The student (who was a senior) was immediately expelled from school for a calandar year, thus preventing him from graduating. All this for " a seed "! Unfortunately for law enforcement the students dad was a lawyer from a family of lawyers. These lawyers used every legal manuver out there and force the "seed" to be sent to the crime lab to be grown for proof that it actually was weed. All of this took place over the course of several months, causing the student to be out of school the vast majority of the second semester of his senior year. About three weeks before graduation, the "seed" produced a "weed" that was native to the region and could be found growing on the side of any country road in the area, instead of marijuana. The school system was forced to reinforce the student and allow him to graduate, even though he had been out of school for months. The school system and the law enforcement authority had to pay out a huge settlement to the family and the student and the law enforcement became the joke of the couty. Needless to say the "zero tolerance" policy was revamped.
Location: Huntersville/Charlotte, NC and Washington, DC
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tightwad
Basic question is the current zero tolerance used in schools fair and balanced?
Weapons aside alot of kids get expelled ,or punished, for infractions of a policy that is defies common sense in most cases. I'm glad our sons are grown so I don't have to deal with this insane system......
Absolutely not.
Our criminal justice system takes into account the character of the person, past history of trouble if any, severity of the crime, and whether any sentence would rehab the person or make them more likely to have future trouble. Zero tolerance throws all that off of the table and ruins good kids for life while keeping kids who are more troublesome for everyone in school just b/c they did not commit a "zero tolerance" offense.
Basic question is the current zero tolerance used in schools fair and balanced?
Weapons aside alot of kids get expelled ,or punished, for infractions of a policy that is defies common sense in most cases. I'm glad our sons are grown so I don't have to deal with this insane system......
Zero tolerance is one of those things that sounds great in theory. After all when someone announces that we have zero tolerance for drugs, violence, or weapons how could anyone be against it? Nobody is for these things in our schools and it certainly would make someone sound as if they wanted drugs, violence and weapons in school if they advocated against these silly zero tolerance policies.
However these policies result in things like this:
The school board here has defined anything that shoots a projectile as the highest level of weapons which requires a one year suspension. It's silly. I am sure if the principal had discretion the punishment for a second grader would not have been as severe.
It's crazy, but this is what happens when policies with no wiggle room are implemented and intended to cover every situation that could possibly arise. The district in question has over a quarter of a million students in it. There cannot be ONE policy that can possibly cover all situations that could arise with that many students.
My own son was involved in an incident when he was in 1st grade. One boy in his class came by and started POUNDING on another boy. My son stepped in to help and faced a mandatory suspension. Luckily, a deferred suspension is permitted for a first time "offender" but that's how crazy it is. Kids are ENCOURAGED to allow one kid to pound on another so that they do not violate a crazy zero tolerance policy. I am very grateful that we can take our kids out of this crazy district and put them into private school
Zero Tolerance is just another way for schools to attempt to control their students. Sadly, the real problem--too many students together under one roof and overcrowded classrooms--is never addressed or resolved.
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