When Kids Get Arrested: What Every Adult Should Know

13. When Children Get Suspended or Expelled: School Discipline Issues and Zero-Tolerance Policies

141 13 When Children Get Suspended or Expelled School Discipline Issues and Zero-Tolerance Policies TOP TIPS 1. Student behavior that used to get solved in the principal ’s office can now result in criminal charges. 2. School frequently use zero-tolerance polices on less serious behavior. 3. Check your school manual for details on behaviors that can result in charges. 4. Research reveals that school discipline is harsher on students of color. Schools across the nation use zero-tolerance polices when dealing with student discipline issues. These policies can result in extremely harsh and absurd results. For example: • A kindergartener was suspended for wearing a fireman’s costume that came with an ax. • A kindergartener was suspended for saying “I’m going to shoot you” to his friends while on the playground. • A ten-year-old was expelled for bringing a paintball gun to show and tell. • An eleven-year-old asthmatic student had his inhaler taken because it violated school drug policy. • A thirteen-year-old boy was suspended when he took a knife from a girl when he thought she might harm herself with it. • A fifth-grade Florida girl arrested on weapons charge for using a steak knife to cut the steak she brought from home to eat for lunch. • A fourth-grade Pennsylvania girl who brought an eight-inch pair of scissors to school was taken out of class, handcuffed, and charged with a weapons offense. • A thirteen-year-old Texas boy spent six days in jail after being asked to write a “scary” Halloween story for a class assignment. When he wrote a story about shooting up the school his paper was referred to the principal’s office, and the principal called the police. WHAT IS ZERO TOLERANCE? The term “zero tolerance” means that there is a mandatory minimum punishment for a designated behavior. For example, a school will have a zero-tolerance policy toward the use of alcohol or drugs. In theory, any student who engaged in the prohibited behavior will be treated the same way. After the Columbine High School shooting that left fifteen people dead, every state passed zero-tolerance firearms polices. Over the years, however, zero-tolerance policies have broadened . Today, the zero-tolerance policies of state and local jurisdictions include many more infractions than just firearms and can include infractions such as disobedience or disrespect. However, unlike other criminal statues, under which a child has to have the intent to commit a particular crime, under zero tolerance the standard is more rigid. The student’s intent doesn’t matter. This “one size fits all” approach not only ignores student intent but also has been used inappropriately by school officials. ISN’T ZERO TOLERANCE A GOOD THING? WON’T IT KEEP MY CHILD SAFER? On paper, zero tolerance sounds like a good thing. For example, saying that “our school district has zero tolerance for guns, weapons, drugs, threats, or disrespect” sends the message that a 142 IMPORTANT ISSUES AND SPECIAL POPULATIONS school will not tolerate any disruptive behavior. Unfortunately, although the original goal was to improve school security, zero tolerance has become a catchall phrase that has brought many more children in to the juvenile justice system. By labeling every act a “criminal act” the system has lost any perspective on what actions are truly dangerous and worthy of punishment. Because of the rigidity of zero-tolerance polices and the inability of school officials to use common sense, the policy frequently results in outrageous newspaper headlines about children being arrested in ridiculous circumstances. In addition to being arrested for minor school offenses, children are also being expelled and suspended under zero-tolerance policies. There has been a dramatic increase in school suspensions and expulsions in the past ten years. Suspensions are often the first step on a path of school failure and exclusion that leads many away from school and out to the street, where they will find trouble and a clear path to the juvenile justice system. The children caught in this net are largely children of color, special needs students, and younger adolescents. The phenomenon known as the school-to-prison pipeline has been well documented.1 WHAT CAN A CONCERNED ADULT DO? 1. Be aware of the school polices. If you have any questions about whether it is okay to send in a cough drop or a knife to cut the...