A retreat from the zero-tolerance fiasco

Posted by on December 16, 2013

A retreat from the zero-tolerance fiasco

Faced with mounting evidence that get-tough policies in schools are leading to arrest records, low academic achievement, and high dropout rates, districts around the country are rethinking their approach to minor offenses, writes Lizette Alvarez for The New York Times. The policies, called zero tolerance, first grew out of the War on Drugs in the 1990s and became more aggressive in the wake of school shootings starting with Columbine. Districts like Broward County Schools in Florida are taking a different direction, joining other large districts like Los Angeles, Baltimore, Chicago, and Denver. Rather than expelling lawbreaking students, they are retaining them in school, away from the streets, and offering counseling and other assistance aimed at changing behavior. These alternative efforts are increasingly supported, sometimes even led, by state juvenile justice directors, judges, and police officers. Nationwide, more than 70 percent of students involved in arrests or referrals to court are black or Hispanic, according to federal data. In Broward County, the policy shift has shown immediate results, although it’s too early to predict overall success. School-based arrests have dropped by 41 percent, and suspensions, which in 2011 added up to 87,000 out of 258,000 students, are down 66 percent from the same period in 2012, school data show.

Read more at: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/03/education/seeing-the-toll-schools-revisit-zero-tolerance.html

See Philadelphia Student Union’s report on Philadelphia’s Zero Tolerance policies:

http://b.3cdn.net/advancement/68a6ec942d603a5d27_rim6ynnir.pdf