Schools Should Eliminate the Use of Zero-Tolerance Policies

The public schools of the United States, despite their proud past, are currently experiencing many difficulties. They seem to be under constant scrutiny and pressure to produce higher academic achievement and at the same time are being criticized by large segments of society. It is no secret that the environment which students experience in the public schools has changed greatly over the past twenty to thirty years, but there are many possible reasons for this; most of these explanations do not place the blame squarely on the schools themselves. Public schools are responsible for one thing, however, and that is the manner in which they react to the changes that take place. Prompted by increased discipline problems within school halls, many districts have adopted zero-tolerance policies toward certain problems, including drugs and violence. When considering current events such as school shootings or evidence of increased drug use among teenagers, this stance may seem rational. However, because they often force schools to make unjust decisions and are at the same time ineffective in increasing school discipline, public schools should eliminate the use of policies of zero-tolerance.

By definition, zero-tolerance policies are restrictive programs in which a thing is not tolerated in any form or at any level. For example, zero-tolerance programs against violence in schools have been used to justify the suspension of students who, using their fingers as mock ray guns, shot at imaginary aliens on the playground at recess. It is the hope of administrators that disciplinary actions such as this will greatly deter students from bringing a real gun to school. Similar to this is the suspension of students whose lunches have been packed w...

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...sensibilities of the public do not help improve the image many people have of public schools.

While healthy school environments and consistency in punishment from case to case need to be maintained, it is possible without resorting to policies of zero-tolerance. Schools should simply apply the idea that a punishment should fit its crime. I believe that most teachers and school administrators have the ability to make good disciplinary judgements on a case-by-case basis and should be allowed to do so. It will help schools maintain a proud image rather than one of places where paranoia reigns, but where serious problems are obviously still present. Schools should not rely on disciplinary policies that may seem effective because they are harsh and have an element of no-nonsense about them. Rather, they should maintain the time-tested values of justice and good sense.