POLICY MATTERS!

Zero Tolerance: The Solution or a False Start?

What Is the Policy?

Zero tolerance is a school policy that gathered momentum in the late 1990s and early 2000s, following the passage of the Federal Gun-Free Schools Act of 1994. The policy mandates automatic suspending or expelling of students bringing firearms onto school grounds or into a school building. Students caught with weapons are also turned over to the police. Since then, zero-tolerance policies have been adopted by state and local school districts for a variety of offenses, from drugs to weapons of any kind and from violent acts to bullying of any kind.

The reason behind their popularity seems to be the widespread view that in recent years, schools have become increasingly nasty and uncivil places. Regarding incivility, in a nationwide survey of nearly 70,000 sixth- to twelfth-grade students, only 37 percent said that students show respect for one another, and 80 percent of the girls surveyed said it bothered them "when others are insulted or hurt verbally." And, of course, events like the Columbine High School shooting in the late 1990s and the shooting of seven high school students in Red Lake Indian Reservation in 2005 have added real energy to the zero-tolerance movement.

How Does It Affect Teachers?

The events and situations that have fueled the adoption of zero-tolerance policies directly affect teachers. In addition to their concern for students who are involved in incidents such as bringing a weapon to school or being drunk in class, teachers are concerned with issues of school and classroom climate. A school where bullying is rampant or a classroom where students insult and taunt one another is hardly an environment where students can perform well academically.

What Are the Pros?

Zero-tolerance policies are an attempt to affect the school culture and give teachers greater opportunity to teach rather than spending time and energy continually dealing with disruptions. In your text, we passed on the advice, "If you can't keep school, you can't teach school." Zero-tolerance policies are designed so that the responsibility of "keeping school" in the face of dramatic breaches of behavior does not rest alone on the shoulders of the teacher. They free teachers and administrators from having to anguish over what to do when a zero-tolerance offense is committed. With such policies in place, teachers don't feel that they have to be the jury and sentencing judge on every serious problem.

Such policies also communicate to other members of the school community. They draw a clear, behavioral line-in-the-sand for potentially offending students. They signal to victimized students that the school community is on their side. They signal to parents and the community, many of whom are deeply concerned that our schools are becoming ineffective as a result of fear and disorder, that the pendulum is swinging back toward order and safety.

What Are the Cons?

Although groups such as the National School Board Association and teachers' organizations started out as big supporters of zero-tolerance policies, many have modified their positions as lawyers expressed grave doubts about the constitutionality of such policies. In February 2001, for example, the prestigious American Bar Association passed a resolution opposing this way of dealing with discipline problems. The claim of many lawyers is that policies of automatic expulsion rob students of their right to due process under the law because punishment, usually separation from school, goes into effect immediately without opportunity for discussion.

Another concern is that zero-tolerance paints with a broad brush, and that the details of fairness could be lost in the broad approach. The boy who mistakenly left his penknife in his backpack is given the same punishment as a dangerous young man with a gun in his locker. What students learn is that arbitrary, impersonal rules are what count and careful reflection and fairness are too much trouble.

Many educators fear that zero-tolerance is just another tool for school to get rid of students they don’t wish to teach. Some civil libertarians, citing a U.S. Department of Education study, claim that zero-tolerance policies fall heaviest on minority students. The report states that African Americans were expelled at a rate over twice their representation our school population.

Finally, some observers report that “zero-tolerance,” which was devised for serious breakdowns of discipline, has morphed into a solution for all sorts of lesser offenses.

What Do You Think?

1.Are you in favor of zero-tolerance policies that call for automatic expulsion for serious breaches such as bringing a firearm to school, bullying, and drinking or using drugs on campus?

2.Do you think zero-tolerance policies should be broadened to other offenses beyond the ones mentioned above? Which offenses?

3.Can you see a downside to automatic suspension or expulsion, which directly or indirectly undermines the authority of teachers?

Sources:

American Bar Association, Zero Tolerance Policy Report, February, 2001available at

C. Stephen Wallis, Education Week, February 11, 1998.

Vanessa Dea, Education Week, February 28, 2001.

Editorial, "Approval of Fighting Back Is No Solution." The Daily Progress (Charlottesville, VA: February 4, 2002), p. A6.

Darcia Harris Bowman, “Interpretations of 'Zero Tolerance' Vary.” Education Week, April 10, 2002.

Richard Meryhew, Chuck Haga, Howie Padilla and Larry Oakes, “Red Lake rampage news conferences, ceremony scheduled,” Star Tribune, March 22, 2005.

For more information on zero-tolerance policies, visit these web sites, and then reflect on the questions that follow.

Web links

National School Safety and Security Services

This national organization has taken a position in opposition to zero tolerance policies, citing the difficulties of applying such policies in a fair and consistent matter.

Randy Cassingham, “Losing Tolerance for Zero Tolerance.”

“Thisistrue.com” is a provocative and frequently amusing site on a range of issues. Here Mr. Cunningham lays out his objections to zero tolerance policies as currently applied.

ZT Nightmares

This site collects stories of misuses of zero tolerance policies and advocates very strongly for abolishing the policies.

National Association of School Psychologists Center

This professional association maintains a site that provides facts and opinions on a number of school policies. At the link above, NASP provides information of zero tolerance policies and the organization’s reason for opposing them.

For Further Reflection:

1.As a new teacher, do you believe it would be helpful or a hindrance to have zero tolerance policies in effect for serious offenses, such as fighting or using extremely vulgar language?

2.What is your reaction to those who would say that the reason for zero tolerance policies is teachers’ failure to use the authority they already have and their lack of skill as classroom managers?