In School Suspension (I.S.S.) or equivalent / Parent Conference ● The school promotes a zero tolerance policy for crime, substance abuse, and victimization. Disciplinary policies include statements regarding antiharassment, antibullying, and antiviolence policies and due process rights in accordance with state and federal laws Disciplinary policies include procedures regarding student interviews by law enforcement and Department of Children and Families. ● ● 1. 2. 3.…
The philosophy of zero tolerance was to deter students from suspension worthy activity or dangerous activity by incorporating police officers into the schools and programs that would suspend, expel and arrest you if you began to stray down the wrong path. This was a reaction to Columbine because they wanted to take preventative measures, not reactive measures. It is stated in the movie that they were scared if they didn’t address the issues in a serious way in the first place, even if the student had no prior record, then something more detrimental could happen. The change within schools to zero tolerance policies that could not only result in school related punishments but actual arrests as we see in this film led to the more placements in the juvenile justice system. Ultimately, zero tolerance rested on the notion that kids are mini adults and thought that a deterrence program would keep them from behaving like…
The documentary begins with a history of the zero tolerance policy. In the 1990's, most schools established guidelines in institutions in order to keep the campuses safe from weapons and drugs. However, schools would soon find themselves deciding which items are considered weapons and what is considered drugs. In today's society, even knives at lunch and ibuprofen are considered hazardous to the safety of our schools. Even kindergartners are being expelled and suspended for playing cops and robbers, using their fingers as guns, or drawing "dangerous" pictures of a man with a gun. Let me address the thought in many minds while watching this film. What 5 year old child is going to cause danger or harm to a school? That's just the issue, it seems our society cares more about safety due to illogical fears, rather than our children's education. That in itself is causing our education system to fail rapidly and increasingly. The documentary also informs us of other incidents occurring in the schools. A 3rd grade student was suspended for a kiss on the cheek, a 5th grader was expelled for bringing ibuprofen to school. Many argue that this kind of action taken by authority is a threat to the basic rights. Forcing students to go through metal detectors, and permitting drug searches without consent is not only robbing…
Zero-tolerance policies often result in suspensions and expulsions, they frequently remove students from the classroom, which in turn moves them onto the school-to-prison pipeline. The school to-prison pipeline starts when teachers and school police assign punishments to misbehaving students that remove them from the classroom. These students then become much more likely to be introduced into the criminal justice system, even if their “crime” was relatively insignificant. The punishments that arise with zero-tolerance policies have been as drastic as leading to…
Skiba, R., et al. 2006. “Are zero tolerance policies effective in the schools? An evidentiary review and recommendations”. American Psychological Association Zero Tolerance Task Force.…
Skiba, R. J., Michael, R. S., Nardo, A. C., & Peterson, R. L. (2002). The color of discipline: Sources of racial and gender disproportionality in school punishment. Urban Review, 34, 317-342.…
During World War I weapons were developing and rapidly improving. New weapons and fighting techniques were being introduced, which caused more violent attacks. These new development in technology changed the way war was fought. As a result of this, there were more damage and kills than ever before.…
There’s people who support the idea, in the middle, and those who are against it. David L. Stader in his article, “Zero Tolerance as Public Policy: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly”, partially leans on the side of keeping the zero tolerance policy. Stader tells us that drugs, physical assaults, and weapons are generally minor or not huge problems with less than 2% of schools ranking them as serious problems. Stader follows up with more statistics such as from 1993-1999, students in grades 9-12 had a percentage of 12 of carrying a weapon. The percentage then falls down to 7% down the road. Stader agrees that zero tolerance sends a powerful message to the school community that violent behavior will not be tolerated. Schools need strong, effective policies to protect our students and to help them feel…
Robert cannot take any textbooks home for completing his homework in any core subject because his teachers do not have enough course books for everyone. In fact, everyone must team up to use textbooks while the teacher is lecturing. The school library does not have a librarian, so it is rarely open. He gets low qualified teachers because the high-quality teachers do not stay at his school, due to lack of resources and support. The classrooms do not include computers, so there is no computer instruction.…
We have heard of the Columbine shooting, where in the spring of 1999 in Littleton, Colorado over a dozen people where killed and many others were wounded at the hands of two students. Or even more recently, we heard about the Virginia Tech massacre where a single student killed thirty-two people and wounded over twenty more. University of Texas, California State University, San Diego State University, the list of school violence is long and heart-breaking. Students and teachers have lost their lives by the dozens to gunmen that carried a grudge for some reason or another. These are extreme cases, for sure, and there is without a doubt a need for discipline in schools every where. However, zero-tolerance policies are not the answer to school discipline unless they can be reformed to have fewer gray areas and kept from being too strict, be less disruptive to the education process and allow teachers to keep their voices, and figure out how to correct claims of racial discrimination, regardless of claims that they are effective.…
The Zero Tolerance Policy ensures the safety of children, teachers and administration by creating punishments like detention or suspension for students that may have a weapon, such as a gun or knife, on school grounds; using drugs or alcohol on school grounds; as well as threatening other students or school staff with physical violence. The zero tolerance policy is now a policy most schools strictly follow. The zero tolerance policy is harsh on children. Administrations are now shadowing in on children and disproportionally. There are metal detectors, doubled the number of school safeties officers, and the involvement of the New York Police Department in the schools within the middle and high schools in the communities of majority black and brown children. Many school districts now have zero tolerance policies that greatly limit discretion in individual cases, involve law enforcement personnel, and mandate removing students from school. These policies generally require out of school suspension or expulsion on the first offence for a variety of behaviors initially instituted for possession of a weapon or illegal drugs, but now frequently also including smoking tobacco or fighting in…
Students of color face harsher punishments in school than their white peers leading to a higher number of youth incarcerated (kerby). Another fact is that although there is no evidence that students of color misbehave at a higher rate than their white peers more than 70% of students referred to law enforcement from schools are Black or Latino (Hinger). A real life example of racial injustice in schools is the court case Winston v. Salt Lake City. Police entered a high school in Salt Lake City to conduct a gang raid. Kaleb Winston who was 14 got picked out from a cafeteria table and was told that his graffiti printed backpack- a reward for his A grades- was evidence for his gang involvement. Teachers and other students from then on treated him with suspicion. So not only does racial injustice cause potential physical harm but also emotional harm because now Kaleb is treated differently in school because of a stereotype in our culture…
Other factors are African Americans being sentenced differently than Whites for the same crimes. The zero tolerance policy for school related violence had an adverse effect on black children (NAACP). The mandatory minimum sentencing and the disparities for crack and powder cocaine possession is also a contributing factor (NAACP). “In 2002, blacks constituted more than 80% of the people sentenced under the federal crack cocaine laws and served substantially more time in prison for drug offenses than did whites, despite that fact that more than 2/3 of crack cocaine users in the U.S. are white or Hispanic”…
A zero-tolerance policy was vastly adopted following the 1999 Columbine shooting. It was created in order to make schools safer by giving harsh punishments no matter the circumstances of the issue nor the child. By using this policy, minor mistakes made by students are criminalized and can give them a criminal…
Therefore, white kids are more likely to be successful. Not to mention, in some cases minorities are given much harsher punishments than caucasians. Over 70% of juveniles who commit a crime under the age of 18 in the US who are serving life without parole are minorities. Even though, minority students commit less violent crimes than white students , they are often punished with worse sentences. In New York City and all around the world colored people are stopped by the police much more often than white people. “Without any cause, the officer accused the man of being a pedophile, referring to the presence of children in the park, and ordered the man out of his car for a pat-down, although the officer had no reason to believe the man was armed.” (Townes and Legum). Racism also affects people in the workplace by limiting their chances for landing a job or promotion. It has been proven that people who have white names have double the chance to be interviewed for a job than a person with an African American name. Many white Americans are quicker to help other whites over African Americans, making it more difficult for minorities to find good…