Zero-Tolerance School Discipline

It was reported in USA Today on May 12, 2008, that tens of thousands of students are suspended each year from Maryland schools for minor infractions under a zero-tolerance policy. It was also reported that critics say this policy harms the most vulnerable children.

Nine percent of students were suspended, and the rate was much higher for African-Americans, special education students, and boys. This was all reported earlier in the Baltimore newspaper, The Sun.

Zero-tolerance policies started being adopted in reaction to the increase of violence not only in schools but in society. It is a knee jerk reaction to try to solve problems after they have escalated into violence instead of trying to find the root causes of problems and correcting those flaws.

Schools are charged with educating students and therefore improving society. This becomes a much harder job when schools are constantly suspending students for what are often minor infractions and Maryland schools are not the only culprits. There have been instances of students being expelled for what I consider minor instances in my home state of Illinois. One kindergarten student from a local school district was expelled for bringing a pair of fingernail clippers to school and another was expelled for the remainder of a school year because of too many tardies.

In the first case, (the fingernail clippers) the student made "threatening" gestures with the clippers to someone at a football game. This kindergarten student was "apprehended", brought before the board of education, and expelled for the rest of the year. I do believe that situation needed to be dealt with, but the deed, in my opinion, did not warrant expulsion from school.

Then there was the student who was expelled for too many tardies. The district was concerned because the student was late to class but then expelled the student. The expulsion ensured that the student would receive no more education for the remainder of the school year. In one breath, the district was saying that it is important to be in class because you miss too much if you are late, and then in the next breath they told the student that they were going to take away educational opportunities through expulsion. It makes very little sense to treat our students in this manner.

I think it is time that the school district in Maryland starts assessing the system of education that is in place in the state. Something is wrong with a system that allows 9 percent of a student population to be suspended. Every organization is a system and can be improved. It seems to me that Maryland has a broken system.

The place to start would be to bring in outside quality consultants to take a look at the system and to evaluate it. It is obvious that many students are not getting their needs met in this setting, and it is necessary to find the reasons why. The next step would be to set into motion a system of continuous improvement based on constancy of purpose. Improvements can be made but this will only happen when everyone is on the same page working toward the same goals. In my opinion, the primary goal of education is to provide students the opportunity to satisfy their needs so they can optimize their learning potential.

The quality of school districts affects every American. It is important that we have the best systems in place to educate our children and to improve the quality of the American way of life.