The Zero Tolerance Policy In Schools

The zero tolerance policy has been getting more and more heat from media and parents alike within the last couple of years. For children being sent home because of their hairstyles, or because they simply don’t have any hair at all, such as the little girl who shaved her head in support of her best friend going through chemotherapy. Although these things are understandable within the stance of following rules and the student code of conduct, is it really that important enough to deny a child their education even for just pulling them out of one class? Two stories in 2013 came out about two seperate occasions where schools pinpointed two girls because their hair did not follow their “no Afros, dreadlocks or distracting hair” rule. Both girls
Although most cases of zero tolerance policy are not to do with student code of conduct such as hairstyle, most are almost just outrageous. This policy started it’s roots in the 1980s and 90s, when the fears concerning violence in schools and classrooms led to a dramatic increase in the zero tolerance policy (Skiba, 2014). It wasn’t long until, according to Skiba, First Lady Nancy Reagan appeared with the Secretary of the Navy to highlight the new "no-nonsense" approach to drug enforcement on 40 sailors for drug usage on a submarine in the Norfolk, Virginia, shipyard. “When disruption and disorder threaten our schools and communities, it becomes increasingly easy to accept the notion that greater authority and force are necessary in order to keep schools secure,” (Skiba, 2014). We have created, according to Kajs, "a one-size-fits-all solution", for something that should never be one-size-fits-all in the first
School-wide prevention efforts have to be in order for this policy to work at all. With teachers having different opinions on discipline and varying degrees of class punishment, the school would need everyone of their staff on board with this change. Although it may not be hard to convince, implementing the process and training is what will probably be longest and hardest to make all terms agreeable. Another process that might help is planning documents that highlight the value of developing caring, productive citizens (Kajs, 2006). “Consequently, instead of focusing primarily on the development of zero tolerance policies, school districts should consider key factors that allow school administrators to exercise their judgment of the situations in their own hands,” according to Kajs report. Conflict resolution, improved classroom management and parental involvement and support, only hit the tip of the iceberg of change school’s efforts for the zero tolerance policy. School administration also need to assess the seriousness of threats of violence and provide support to students who may be at-risk for violence and disruption through such interventions as mentoring, anger management screening, and teaching prosocial skills (Skiba, 2014). Supporting these children is what