Thread: Backlash forms against 'zero tolerance'

Backlash forms against 'zero tolerance'
By RAY HENRY, Associated Press Writer
Fri Jun 15, 1:06 PM ET

PROVIDENCE, R.I. - Fifth-graders in California who adorned their mortarboards with tiny toy plastic soldiers this week to support troops in
Iraq were forced to cut off their miniature weapons. A Utah boy was suspended for giving his cousin a cold pill prescribed to both students. In Rhode Island, a kindergartner was suspended for bringing a plastic knife to school so he could cut cookies.

It's all part of "zero tolerance" rules, which typically mandate severe punishments for weapons and drug offenses regardless of the circumstances.

Lawmakers in several states say the strict policies in schools have resulted in many punishments that lack common sense, and are seeking to loosen the restrictions. "A machete is not the same as a butter knife. A water gun is not the same as a gun loaded with bullets," said Rhode Island state Sen. Daniel Issa, a former school board member who worries that no-tolerance rules are applied blindly and too rigidly.

Issa sponsored a bill requiring school districts to decide punishments for alcohol, drug and non-firearm weapon violations on a case-by-case basis after weighing the circumstances. It passed the Senate and House and now heads for the governor's desk.

Some have long been aware of the problems of zero tolerance. For the last decade, Mississippi has allowed local school districts to reduce previously mandatory one-year expulsions for violence, weapons and drug offenses.

More recently, Texas lawmakers have also moved to tone down their state's zero-tolerance rules. Utah altered its zero-tolerance policy on drugs so asthmatic students can carry inhalers. The American Bar Association has recommended ending zero-tolerance policies, while the American Psychological Association wants the most draconian codes changed. "It may be a bit of self-correction that you're beginning to see where the pendulum is coming back," said Kathy Christie, vice president of a research clearinghouse for Education Commission of the States in Denver.

A decade ago, more than three-quarters of public schools surveyed reported adopting some version of a no-tolerance policy, according to the U.S.
Department of Education. "Zero tolerance" became a popular political buzzword during the waning days of the Reagan administration's "War On Drugs," and the rules spread rapidly after a series of high-profile school shootings, according to a report issued last year by the American Psychological Association.

A 1997 survey of more than 1,200 public schools by the U.S. Department of Education found that 79 percent had zero-tolerance policies against violence, 88 percent for drugs, 91 percent for weapons and 94 percent for firearms.

Some parents have mixed feelings about zero-tolerance rules. Christine Duckworth, 50, is the mother of an 18-year-old daughter who just graduated Portsmouth High School in Rhode Island, which has a zero-tolerance policy.

Duckworth said she wanted her daughter safe at school, but she said rules must reflect that teenagers make mistakes. "I think there's pretty much always a gray area," she said. "You're dealing with individuals. How can you possibly apply one law to every single person and their circumstances?"

There are some signs that policies could be changing.

Texas decided in 2005 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 mandatory. "It's hard to legislate common sense," he said. "If we get intent into part of the code, I think we'll be in good shape."

Critics of zero-tolerance rules cite multiple problems. Academic achievement often lags in schools with the highest rates of suspension and expulsion, even when socio-economic factors are taken into consideration, said Cecil Reynolds, chairman of the APA's Zero Tolerance Taskforce. "The kids feel like they're walking on egg shells," he said.

Reynolds also questioned what lessons zero-tolerance rules teach, citing reports that a 10-year-old girl was expelled from a Colorado academy after giving a teacher a small knife her mother placed in her lunchbox. "What she learned from the school was, 'If something happens and you break a rule, for God's sake, don't tell anybody,'" Reynolds said. "Zero-tolerance policies completely ignore the concept of intent, which is antithetical to the American philosophy of justice."

The principal at Portsmouth High School in Rhode Island — whose mascot is sometimes depicted carrying a rifle — censored a yearbook photo because it showed a student who enjoys medieval reenactments wearing chainmail and holding a sword. Citing the cost of litigation, the school relented this year and recently published in the yearbook graduate Patrick Agin's senior photo showing him with the sword.

Agin said he understands rules against guns and drugs, but he was perplexed about how school administrators drew distinctions in his case. He never brought the sword to school. "You can't really have a zero tolerance," he said. "We have track and field. We throw javelins. If you think about it, you can pretty much make anything into a weapon."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070615/...SKQgF1YgJH2ocA

Cub Scout, 6, Suspended for Fork
1st Grader Brings Camping Utensil to School for Lunch, But Zero Tolerance Weapons Policy Leads to 45-Day Suspension

(CBS) A 6-year-old boy's excitement over joining the Cub Scouts may just land him in reform school for 45 days.

Zachary Christie was suspended from his 1st grade class in Delaware's Christina School District after bringing a camping utensil - a combination knife/fork/spoon - to use at lunch, prompting calls to reexamine schools' zero-tolerance policy for bringing weapons to school, according to a New York Times report Monday.

Zero tolerance policies were instituted in many school districts across the country, at least in part due to violence at Columbine and Virginia Tech, the report notes. Their rigid enforcement is designed to eliminate the appearance of bias or discrimination on the part of school officials.

The school district's policy is enforced "regardless of intent" and "does not take into consideration a child's age," reports CBS News correspondent Jim Axelrod.

But residents, and some lawmakers, are now wondering why schools can't apply a more common-sense discretion to such instances.

"It just seems unfair," said Zachary, who is being home-schooled while his mother, Debbie Christie, tries to fight the suspension. That involved Zachary appearing before a district disciplinary committee with his karate instructor and mother's fiancé vouching for him as character witnesses.

"Zachary wears a suit and tie some days to school by his own choice because he takes school so seriously," his mother said. "He is not some sort of threat to his classmates."

Christie started a Web site, http://wwww.helpzachary.com, to drum up support for her son.

State Representative Teresa L. Schooley wrote the disciplinary committee, asking each member to "consider the situation, get all the facts, find out about Zach and his family and then act with common sense for the well-being of this child."

But the strict enforcement of the policy has its supporters. "There is no parent who wants to get a phone call where they hear that their child no longer has two good seeing eyes because there was a scuffle and someone pulled out a knife," said George Evans, the school district board's president.

There has been a move to give school officials more flexibility in "weapon"-related incidents. After a third-grade girl was expelled for a year after bringing in a knife to cut the birthday cake her grandmother sent in to the class, a new law was passed allowing officials to modify punishments on a case-by-case basis. But that was for expulsions, not suspensions as Zachary is faced with. Another revision to the law is being drafted to address suspensions, according to the report.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/...in;contentBody


When you make the penalty the same for bringing a fork to school as a switchblade, a watergun the same as a 45 caliber Glock ... why should the kids make any distingtions themselves ?

Toy soldiers run afoul of school's weapons ban
By Michelle R. Smith, Associated Press Writer 36 mins ago



PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Christan Morales says her son just wanted to honor American troops when he wore a hat to school decorated with an American flag and small plastic Army figures. But the hat ran afoul of the district's no-weapons policy because the toy soldiers were carrying tiny weapons.

"His teacher called and said it wasn't appropriate because it had guns," Morales said.

Morales' 8-year-old son, David, was assigned to make a hat for the day when his second-grade class would met their pen pals from another school. She and her son came up with an idea to add patriotic decorations to a camouflage hat.

Earlier this week, the Tiogue School in Coventry sent the cap home with David at the end of the day after concluding it violated a zero-tolerance policy for weapons.

The principal told the family that the hat would be fine if David replaced the Army men holding weapons with ones that didn't have any, according to Superintendent Kenneth R. Di Pietro.

Morales said the family had only one Army figure without a weapon (he was carrying binoculars), so David wore a plain baseball cap on the day of the visit. "Nothing was being done to limit patriotism, creativity, other than find an alternative to a weapon," Di Pietro said.

The district does not allow images of weapons or drugs on clothing. For example, a student would not be permitted to wear a shirt with a picture of a marijuana leaf on it, the superintendent said.

The principal "wasn't denying the patriotism," he said. "That just is the wrong and unfair image of one of our finest principals."

Morales said her son was inspired to honor the military after striking up a friendship last summer with a neighbor in the Army.

Banning the hat "sent the wrong message to the kids, because it wasn't in any way to cause any harm to anyone," she said. "You're talking about Army men. This wasn't about guns."

The story was first reported by Providence TV station WPRI.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100617/...NsawNwcmludA--


comments

Nothing says "Patriotism" quite like censoring free expression.

This policy makes even less sense when you consider that the police were never called to arrest the child. If this child showed up for school with a loaded gun- which, for the record, is an actual weapon- don't you think the principal would have called the police? So if they're going to have a zero tolerance policy for weapons, then shouldn't they have called the police in this case? Now they let the child take the hat- with the "weapons" (their term, not mine) still on it? Isn't the school concerned that David Morales might decide to "shoot" at other students with the "weapon" on his hat? Again, if he had a loaded gun- an actual weapon- they wouldn't have done that. So I guess then the "weapon" on his hat must not have been too much of a concern after all.

It just seems to me it's not a very zero tolerant policy if they're not calling the police for every infraction. And I understand why they're not doing that: the principal doesn't want the lecture from a police officer explaining to him what an actual weapon is even though it's clear he needs that.

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Soldiers are ok - but only if they have no weapons.

lol.

that's actually kinda funny. too bad the guy was serious.

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No wonder our school systems are failing. They are run by a bunch of people who can't think. Those same types plastic figures have been around since the end of WWII.

RI boy who made banned toy soldier hat gets medal
2 hrs 46 mins ago

EAST PROVIDENCE, R.I. – A Rhode Island boy whose school banned a hat he made because the toy soldiers on it carried tiny guns was awarded a medal on Friday for his patriotic efforts.

Lt. Gen. Reginald Centracchio, the retired head of the Rhode Island National Guard, gave 8-year-old David Morales a medal called a challenge coin during an appearance on WPRO-AM's John DePetro show. Centracchio said the second-grader should be thanked for recognizing veterans and soldiers. "You did nothing wrong, and you did an outstanding job," he said. "We can only hope that kids of your caliber will continue to defend this country."

Centracchio also gave David a certificate that allows him to call himself a brigadier general. David was assigned to make a hat last week for a project at the Tiogue School in Coventry. He chose a patriotic theme and glued plastic Army figures to a camouflage baseball cap. But school officials said the hat ran afoul of their no-weapons policy because the Army men held tiny guns.

The school has said David was offered the chance to wear the hat if he replaced the toy soldiers holding weapons with ones that didn't have any. Centracchio said that didn't make sense because soldiers *are* armed, and met with school administrators Thursday to share his concerns.

David said he felt great and called it an honor. "I think it's really special," he said. "I'm going to definitely enjoy this day for a long time."

Also Friday, the Rhode Island chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union said it sent a letter to Coventry Superintendent Kenneth DiPietro saying the school's policy was an unconstitutional violation of students' free speech. It called on the district to revise the policy.

DiPietro did not immediately return a message seeking comment.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100619/...NsawNwcmludA--

The school officials were completely brainwashed by the school rules. This is completely ridiculous, the kid tries to do something patriotic and honor U.S. soldiers but then the officials says it's a bad thing because it has guns which U.S. soldiers have with them all the time in the combat zone, and they don't resemble weapons at all and could never be mistaken for a 'so called' weapon to kill someone. I also bet they have war books in their library that have soldiers shooting guns. I guess war documentaries should be banned also because they have soldiers with guns. This was purposely posted on Yahoo because of how ridiculous it was, not because of the medal he received.

March 5, 2013
High School Student Wrestles Gun Away From Classmate… And Gets Suspended For It!?

A 16-year-old Florida high school student says he’s been suspended for three days after wrestling a gun away from a classmate on a school bus.

According to FOX affiliate WFTX-TV, the 15-year-old suspect took out the loaded gun and pointed it at another student. He was charged with possession of a firearm on school property and assault with a deadly weapon without intent to kill.

The hero student was then given an “emergency suspension” as part of the school’s zero-tolerance policy on fights involving a weapon.

So how can a student be punished for protecting his fellow students?

Judge Andrew Napolitano weighed in on the situation this morning on Fox and Friends. He said it’s part of a larger problem, of “putting society in a position where you’re afraid to do the right thing,” and he pointed to the shocking story about a California nurse who said she was prohibited from giving CPR to a dying woman.

He said “something’s very wrong” with the “P.C. police” in schools when you have kids getting suspended for mimicking having a gun and students getting automatic suspensions for trying to defend others.
http://foxnewsinsider.com/2013/03/05...pended-for-it/

comments

So let me get this straight. It's ok to point a gun to kill but not do THE RIGHT THING to protect someone. Florida and this country has gone to H E L L. The PC police can stick it. When it gets to this point were there saying it's basically ok to kill there is a serious problem. Once again the NRA was RIGHT to put armed police in schools.

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just what if the gun went off when he was wrestling it away from the kid/gunman...and killed 3 or 4 kids...do you still think the same way...common sense..!..you have to think to have any

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What ever atlas, you are totally missing the point. Yth the gunholder should be safe from anyone trying to stop him because they will be punished for stopping him from killing someone.

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Punished....hhmmmm....but those who pressed charges didn't include "intent to kill"???? Oh ya, real punishment!! How do they know what the kid's intent was?? Basic handgun safety teaches you "you don't point a gun at anything you don't intend to shoot". OH!!! Maybe this thug kid who pointed the gun told everyone "he didn't intend to use it". What a load of crud!! If this had been adults on a city bus, the person who wrestled the gun away would have been cited as a HERO.

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I think all the students are probably standing behind him. Even liberals know this is wrong.This is a good example of why "zero-tolerance" isn't the best policy. Administrators need to use their brains in deciding punishment.

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So now we're effectively encouraging students to sit idly by and get shot? It's like they're hoping for more kids to die so they can vilify more legal gun owners. For all of you who have children, homeschool or private school. The extra money will definitely be worth it.

Florida honor student arrested, expelled for science project
May 03, 2013 7:03 PM CDT - By Tanita Gaither

BARTOW, FL (RNN) - A high school student with clean conduct record was arrested on felony charges and expelled from school after conducting what she called "a science fair experiment."

The incident occurred on April 22 when 16-year-old Kiera Wilmot decided to conduct the experiment on the grounds of Bartow High School. Wilmot combined household cleaner and aluminum foil in an eight ounce water bottle. The chemical reaction created a pop that sounds like a firecracker and smoke. Wilmot was not injured and neither was any other student. "Wilmot advised she was told by a friend how to make the device," said the incident report. "Wilmot advised she did not know what would happen when she mixed the ingredients. She said she did know it would make smoke."

The school's assistant principal of discipline, Dan Durham, was also outside and saw the incident and addressed Wilmot, who was honest about the details of the project.

"She made a bad choice," said Durham told WTSP. "Honestly, I don't think she meant to ever hurt anyone. She wanted to see what would happen and was shocked by what it did. Her mother is shocked, too."

Following the incident, her science teacher was asked if they sanctioned the project. The teacher said no. The responding officer, upon the suggestion of Florida Assistant State attorney Tammy Glotfelty, arrested Wilmot, charging her with possessing or discharging weapons or firearms at a school sponsored event or on school property and possessing any destructive devices. Both counts are felonies and she will be tried as an adult.

Wilmot has also been expelled from school and will complete the rest of her high school education in an expulsion program. The Polk County, FL school district said the incident was in direct violation of its conduct code and her expulsion will not be overturned. Wilmot will be able to challenge her expulsion. "Unfortunately, what she did falls into our code of conduct," Polk County, FL district spokeswoman Leah Lauderdale told the Miami Times. "It's grounds for immediate expulsion."

Durham said she is a good kid who has never had to be disciplined. "She has never been in trouble before. Ever," Durham said.

The story has garnered buzz across social media - one side defending the student and the other defending the school system for expelling her.

A petition on causes.com called for all charges against Wilmot to be dropped to for her to be reinstated to the school "without penalty." As of Friday, it had been signed by almost 1,000 people. http://www.causes.com/scienceisnotaf...=search_widget

The science publication The Scientific American addressed Wilmot's case in an article entitled, How to repel kids from science: by shackling curiosity in cuffs.

Several commenters also posted to a Facebook page about the school calling for the expulsion to be overturned. It is not clear whether it is the school's official Facebook page.

"Like a scarlet letter 'F' tattooed to her forehead, she may be forever branded a felon. And for what? A mistake in judgment? Curiosity run amok? Was there intent to do harm, to inflict pain or instill fear and terror? No," one post read.

The incident happened one week after the Boston Marathon bombing that killed three and injured more than 200.

Polk County Schools released a statement saying "Anytime a student makes a bad choice it is disappointing to us. Unfortunately, the incident that occurred at Bartow High School [April 22] was a serious breach of conduct." "In order to maintain a safe and orderly learning environment, we simply must uphold our code of conduct rules," the statement said. "We urge parents to join us in conveying the message that there are consequences to actions. We will not compromise the safety and security of our students and staff."

Friends of Wilmot said to WTSP that she has a twin sister who is still attending the school. The Wilmot family has not made a statement regarding the case.

http://www.wafb.com/story/22158287/f...4#WNPoll129186

stupid