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Common sense at last? Revisiting 'zero-tolerance' at schools
At last. At long last.
It seems there are some people in Tallahassee who actually look at a plastic utensil used to spread Cheese Whiz and think: That's not a knife.
Too often, zero-tolerance laws have resulted in students facing charges that are so patently absurd that it's a challenge to cover these stories with a straight face. Invariably, when school officials are asked to explain why a child should face expulsion for violating the strictest possible interpretation of "carrying a weapon to school," they fall back on, "It's a zero-tolerance policy."
Sounds more like a zero-discretion policy, and it's refreshing to see officials putting discretion back where it belongs: in the hands of those who witness these alleged violations and enforce the rules in the first place.
According to the Associated Press article:
Sen. Stephen Wise, R-Jacksonville, said his bill (SB 1540) would save money and prevent children from having criminal records by requiring that schools handle such disciplinary matters administratively. “Throw an eraser and they want to call it throwing a deadly missile, which is a felony,” Wise told the Senate panel. “When you get into the juvenile justice system everybody thinks your sins are forgiven when you turn 18, and I will assure you that doesn’t happen. It’s a blemish on your record.”In 2005 an 11-year-old Hernando County girl was arrested for allegedly bringing a plastic butter knife to school. She was handcuffed, taken to jail and charged with a third-degree felony. A 15-year-old boy at the same school that year received three weeks of house arrest for throwing a pencil that hit a custodian on the shoulder.
In 2003... a 13-year-old Brandon student was suspended because his calculator had a knife-like gadget.
What's your take?
Gretchen Day-Bryant has a son in high school and a daughter in middle school. She’s lived to tell about the struggles of juggling little kids and work...
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Comments
I think the main problem comes down to administration is no longer allowed to make common sense decisions on their own. The school districts are so worried about being sued that they try to be fair by treating everyone the same. But by doing this they are being anything but fair. I also love how a student can walk up to another student and punch them. The other student obviously tries to protect them self but the both end up being suspended. How is it someone attacks you and you can end up being suspended for it? Give administration some real decision making power back.
Posted by: karen | March 25, 2009 7:29 PM
I agree conceptually with the poster above who wishes to give individual school administrations more power. However, the problem is that they are more vulnerable to getting sued when that happens. It is not that the districts do not want to grant them that power. It is not that the state doesnt want to grant them that power either. The problem is that the laws allow the parents to sue schools for nearly anything and the only way to prevent such things from happening are to restrict power like we do now. The first step is to change the laws so that people cannot sue schools for ridiculous reasons. Once that is successfully complete then we can look into redistributing power slowly over time.
Posted by: X | March 26, 2009 11:32 AM
You know, that's a real good point, and one I probably wouldn't have thought of on my own. Thanks for the insight.
Posted by: Rafael | March 26, 2009 1:12 PM
I was concerned when a boy in an alternative school in Martin County was arrested for turning off peer's computers and farting. Sad but true.
Posted by: y | March 29, 2009 6:02 AM
It's about time but too late to save my gifted nephew from Kings Academy in West Palm Beach!
After three gifted children from one family attended this private school for a total of 35 years the youngest Jack Sailsbery was expelled last week from his senior class. The crime was unknowingly selling on eBay a calculator that was taken from another student by someone else. He was taken from school in handcuffs without anyone calling home! He was not allowed to make any phone calls for almost six hours wile he was interrogated int tears. Can anyone help him before graduation???
Posted by: Brian Victor | March 30, 2009 8:48 AM