Zero Tolerance

National School Safety Center, 2004 Reported that Zero Tolerance were making schools safer. During the 1992-93 school year there were 56 violent deaths in U.S. schools. By 2001-2002, the number of school deaths was reduced to five. In 2001, 80% of Americans supported zero tolerance policies in schools. They claimed that it set a standard of expected behavior and known consequences. These policies result in “fairness” and have equal consequences. If implemented with “common sense’, zero tolerance policies assist administrators in keeping schools safe.  

ZERO Tolerance - What Is it? Zero – Tolerance originated from state and federal drug enforcement policies in the 1980’s. It was first initiate by the Navy in 1983 to crack down on the use of drugs by military personnel

In 1986 the U.S. attorney in San Diego implemented the policy to impound a sea craft carrying any amount of drugs. By 1988 the U.S. Attorney General Edwin Meese authorized customs to seize boats, automobiles, and passports of anyone crossing the border with even trace amounts of drugs and to charge those individuals in federal court.

People who had their private property confiscated for small amounts of drugs approached the ACLU who was prepared to file a suit against the program. After two research vessels were seized for small amounts in 1990, the zero-tolerance policy was quietly discontinued on a federal level.

However….. The term “zero tolerance” had caught on and by 1993 the public school system had begun to incorporate it’s policies in schools

1990’s – There was a growing concern about school safety Parents and school administrators were struggling with an influx of weapons, drugs, and violence in the schools

School boards nation wide adopted the zero tolerance policy for : weapons and drugs. Some individual schools expanded on the policy to include broad sweeping terms such as “ gang activity” and “disruptive students”.

As a school policy zero – tolerance should be reserved for the most serious crimes not for minor non-violent offenses. However, it has become the primary standard fro disciplining everything from actual gun possession to guns drawn on a piece of paper.

There are few guidelines regarding Zero Tolerance Results: Four kindergartners at Wilson Elementary School in Sayreville, NJ were suspended for three days for playing a make believe game of cops and robbers during recess, using their fingers as guns… the case is now before the Third Circuit Court of Appeals.

Gun-Free Schools Act 1994 – Gun-Free Schools Act was passed Requires that each state have in effect a state law that states any student caught carrying a gun on school property will have a “ mandatory one-year expulsion”.

The law also required that school’s receiving federal ESEA funds must adopt a policy requiring referral to the criminal justice or juvenile delinquency system of any student who brings a firearm to school Each state law must allow the chief administering officer of the school to modify the expulsion requirement on a case-by-case basis.

GFSA states that nothing in the GFSA shall be construed to prevent a state from allowing a school that has expelled a student from that student’s regular school setting from providing educational services to that student in an alternative setting

The GFSA requires states to provide annual reports to the Secretary of Education. The Secretary is required to report to Congress if any state is not in compliance with the GFSA.

Massachusetts General Law MGL Chapter 71, 371/2 H Students / children have felony charges against them A principal or headmaster of a school may suspend a student’s charged with felony’s for any period of time if they determined that the student’s “continued presence in school would have a substantial detrimental effect on the general welfare of the school”.

If a student is convicted of a felony or upon an adjudication or admission, in a court of guilt, the principal or headmaster of a school in which the student is enrolled may expel the student if the principal determines that the student’s continued presence in school would have a substantial detrimental effect on the general welfare of the school. The student has the right to appeal the expulsion to the superintendent. The student must put the request in writing no later than five calendar days following the effective date of the expulsion.

The superintendent shall have the authority to overturn or alter the decision of the principal, including recommending an alternate education program for the student. The superintendent will render a decision on the appeal within five calendar days of the hearing. Such decision shall be the final decision of the city, town, or regional school district with regard to the expulsion. Upon expulsion, no school or school district shall be required to provide educational services to the student (Added by St. 1993,c.380, s.2