Zero Tolerance Policies In School

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Zero Tolerance Policies Annemarie Zimzores Grand Canyon University: EDA 555 Legal Issues in Education August 27, 2014 Zero Tolerance Policies Many people are calling school districts zero tolerance policies “ridiculous.” Many school districts have zero tolerance policies with reasonable outcomes and disciplinary consequences. School safety is very important. The purpose of zero tolerance policies is to provide a safe learning environment for all students. Schools have zero tolerance for weapons, drugs, and violent behavior on school grounds. The disciplinary actions that will result from such serious offenses include suspension and expulsion. Many school administrators and staff are in favor of zero tolerance policies for reasons…show more content…
Zero Tolerance rules started with the best of intentions in the early 1980’s to counter increased exposure to drugs in schools. The rules were expanded to weapons so that districts could work to safeguard students from an increase in school violence during the early 1980’s. Research is showing that zero-tolerance rules aren’t working to counter student’s aggressive behaviors, and in many ways have created stressors on systems that weren’t designed to mange large amounts of students outside school. To counter aggressive behaviors in schools research is showing that student trainings, through social skills and anti-aggression instruction, are one of the only effective tools in changing student’s behaviors to a point where there is an overall reduction in aggressive and dangerous behaviors in the school setting (Wilson & Lipsey,…show more content…
For example a student brings a toy to school, this toy happens to be a water gun, in the normal light of day this is just a harmless toy; however with zero-tolerance policy in affect this “toy” becomes a reason to suspend and potentially expel this child. Another example, a group of children are playing during recess, they are playing cops and robbers when one child holds his hand out to “shoot” the bad guy and the next thing you know he is being suspended under the zero-tolerance policy. Under this current policy there is no room for intent, it is clear cut, anything that is “weapon-like” is ground for expulsion. For most administers they are feeling forced into these polices and their disciplinary result, but not all states except how these polices are written, In 2005 Texas decided that schools can consider students' intent and other mitigating factors before punishing them for any offenses other than those involving firearms, and Rep. Rob Eissler said he wants the weighing of those factors to be

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