John Whitehead's Commentary
Zero Common Sense School Discipline Rules Cheapen Students' Humanity
Ever since an over-eager school administrator first dreamed up the concept of "zero tolerance" policies, the outrages have been pouring in from all across the country. Incidents include a boy suspended for bringing a water pistol to school, a student disciplined for telling friends that breath mints would make them jump higher, a girl expelled for bringing a nail file to class and a high schooler commended for his valor in taking a knife away from a suicidal friend--although he was then suspended for violating the school's zero tolerance policy against weapons possession.
As the abuses pile up, hopefully school administrators and state legislators will eventually realize that zero tolerance policies destroy more innocent lives than they save.
The most recent story comes from Pontiac, Michigan. There, while walking to school through the snowbound streets of the city, a third-grade boy found a necklace medallion in a snow bank. The medallion was just one-and-a-half inches long, but it was shaped like a gun.
When he arrived at Owen Elementary School, the boy showed the medallion to his friends. School officials acknowledge that he never pointed the toy medallion at another student or threatened anyone with it. In fact, the tiny charm didn't even have a hole at the end of the barrel where a bullet would exit a real gun.
Despite these undisputed facts, school officials felt compelled to invoke a state law on zero tolerance for the possession of weapons on school grounds--a law which they claim gave them no choice other than to suspend the third-grader--even though there was no weapon. Moreover, school officials said the boy was very honest about the entire incident and felt badly for accidentally breaking the school's weapons policy.
The decision, which hit newsstands recently, provoked an avalanche of criticism. On the website of the newspaper that broke the story, the Oakland Press, scores of angry parents e-mailed their disgust. Reaction ranged from accusing school administrators of idiocy to excoriating other parents of children in Owen Elementary for overreacting to rumors about the gun medallion and keeping their children out of school the day after the incident. Most people were simply shocked that an American school could be so heavy-handed with a third-grade student who was obviously innocent of any wrongdoing.
As one police officer said in his comment to the Press, "Just imagine if the police had zero tolerance for traffic violations. 'One mile over the limit sir, here's your citation.'"
In the face of such heated criticism, school officials have backed away from their original handling of the situation. What was originally reported as a suspension has been redefined--one school official now tells reporters that the boy was sent home, not because he was suspended, but for his "own comfort." But redefining the punishment does nothing to remove its stigma.
There are serious constitutional issues involved whenever a young citizen is deprived of his right to enjoy the benefits of a public education without proper safeguarding of his rights. But often the legalities of zero tolerance policies can cloud the real humanity at stake in these cases.
Each time a school official invokes a draconian and irrational zero tolerance policy to punish a student, it has drastic consequences for a real-life human being. Children who otherwise have stellar school records are forever tainted by suspensions and expulsions, no matter how misguided the policies behind them might be.
Then there are the psychological consequences of these decisions. In today's world, the student killers at Columbine and other tragic sites are among the most feared and despised in our society. To be lumped together with them can forever stain a child's emotional and spiritual development. He or she is stigmatized by society, labeled a disaffected outcast, an imminent danger to society.
A society is judged by how it treats the weakest of its citizens. And while zero tolerance policies may oftentimes be motivated by true fear of such things as school violence, they show an utter disrespect and callous disregard for the lives of student-age children--the same young children that we should be most eager to shield from the excesses of a country now obsessed with legality over humanity.
As the abuses pile up, hopefully school administrators and state legislators will eventually realize that zero tolerance policies destroy more innocent lives than they save.
The most recent story comes from Pontiac, Michigan. There, while walking to school through the snowbound streets of the city, a third-grade boy found a necklace medallion in a snow bank. The medallion was just one-and-a-half inches long, but it was shaped like a gun.
When he arrived at Owen Elementary School, the boy showed the medallion to his friends. School officials acknowledge that he never pointed the toy medallion at another student or threatened anyone with it. In fact, the tiny charm didn't even have a hole at the end of the barrel where a bullet would exit a real gun.
Despite these undisputed facts, school officials felt compelled to invoke a state law on zero tolerance for the possession of weapons on school grounds--a law which they claim gave them no choice other than to suspend the third-grader--even though there was no weapon. Moreover, school officials said the boy was very honest about the entire incident and felt badly for accidentally breaking the school's weapons policy.
The decision, which hit newsstands recently, provoked an avalanche of criticism. On the website of the newspaper that broke the story, the Oakland Press, scores of angry parents e-mailed their disgust. Reaction ranged from accusing school administrators of idiocy to excoriating other parents of children in Owen Elementary for overreacting to rumors about the gun medallion and keeping their children out of school the day after the incident. Most people were simply shocked that an American school could be so heavy-handed with a third-grade student who was obviously innocent of any wrongdoing.
As one police officer said in his comment to the Press, "Just imagine if the police had zero tolerance for traffic violations. 'One mile over the limit sir, here's your citation.'"
In the face of such heated criticism, school officials have backed away from their original handling of the situation. What was originally reported as a suspension has been redefined--one school official now tells reporters that the boy was sent home, not because he was suspended, but for his "own comfort." But redefining the punishment does nothing to remove its stigma.
There are serious constitutional issues involved whenever a young citizen is deprived of his right to enjoy the benefits of a public education without proper safeguarding of his rights. But often the legalities of zero tolerance policies can cloud the real humanity at stake in these cases.
Each time a school official invokes a draconian and irrational zero tolerance policy to punish a student, it has drastic consequences for a real-life human being. Children who otherwise have stellar school records are forever tainted by suspensions and expulsions, no matter how misguided the policies behind them might be.
Then there are the psychological consequences of these decisions. In today's world, the student killers at Columbine and other tragic sites are among the most feared and despised in our society. To be lumped together with them can forever stain a child's emotional and spiritual development. He or she is stigmatized by society, labeled a disaffected outcast, an imminent danger to society.
A society is judged by how it treats the weakest of its citizens. And while zero tolerance policies may oftentimes be motivated by true fear of such things as school violence, they show an utter disrespect and callous disregard for the lives of student-age children--the same young children that we should be most eager to shield from the excesses of a country now obsessed with legality over humanity.
ABOUT JOHN W. WHITEHEAD
Constitutional attorney and author John W. Whitehead is founder and president of The Rutherford Institute. His most recent books are the best-selling Battlefield America: The War on the American People, the award-winning A Government of Wolves: The Emerging American Police State, and a debut dystopian fiction novel, The Erik Blair Diaries. Whitehead can be contacted at staff@rutherford.org. Nisha Whitehead is the Executive Director of The Rutherford Institute. Information about The Rutherford Institute is available at www.rutherford.org.
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