The Time Is Right to End ‘Zero Tolerance’, p. 35
One frequent accompaniment of school reform is an increasingly harsh application of zero-tolerance discipline policies. These policies have resulted in suspension and expulsion rates in schools are at all-time highs, involving 3.3 million students in 2006, or one in 14 students. Less than one in ten were for violent offenses, and most were for things like tardiness, talking back to a teacher, or violating dress codes. Students of color were disproportionately affected: in 2006 around 15% of blacks were suspended, compared to 7% of Hispanic students and 5% of white students. Schools are simply excluding students who violate school rules, leaving the court systems to deal with issues that educators used to handle. Schools are under increasing pressure to raise test scores, and this may also encourage the practice of pushing “problem” children out of school.
The result of this zero-tolerance emphasis is that increasing numbers of students are being denied access to those services that they need most, increasing the likelihood of them becoming involved with the criminal justice system instead—the “school to prison pipeline.” In the U.S., more 18-to-24-year-old black men live in prison cells than in college dorm rooms. What’s more, research has shown that this zero-tolerance approach fails to improve student behavior.
Some school districts are implementing more positive preventative approaches to school discipline, such as creating respectful and welcoming school environments, teaching positive behavior skills and conflict resolution, and expanding access to academic and counseling services for students and families. These approaches are more likely to support achievement, helping to close the school-to-prison pipleline. Many of the men in prison today initially made one mistake—as children—and their education simply stopped. If we can keep kids in school and give them a fair chance to learn, they will be less likely to wind up in prison.
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