Are zero-tolerance policies a good idea? Zero-tolerance policies generally mandate specific punishments for various types of misconduct in school. Do they make sense?

• Author: LeCour, Nat
• Position: Debate

YES Most students come to school ready to learn and behave appropriately. But for the minority of students whose behavior is dangerous, threatening, or chronically disruptive, schools must outline clear and consistent consequences. Certain offenses have no place in school and should result in firm and appropriate sanctions. Zero-tolerance policies for lethal weapons, illegal drugs, and violent behavior give schools an effective tool to keep students safe.

Some people believe that zero tolerance always means automatic expulsion for even minor student offenses. Discipline policies, including zero-tolerance policies, should include a range of appropriate consequences, reserving the most extreme responses for the most serious offenses.

Zero tolerance should not mean zero common sense. Carrying aspirin to school should not be treated the same way as bringing illegal drugs, for example. But it is equally illogical to fail to enforce policies for serious offenses, or to enforce them in a discriminatory or selective manner.

All school districts should adopt discipline policies because the entire school community--staff, parents, and students--must be aware of and understand what's expected of them so that they can abide by and uphold the rules. We owe students and parents the reassurance that schools will not tolerate behavior that puts them in jeopardy. At the same time, we must be reasonable, consistent, and fair. Zero-tolerance policies allow us to balance those equally important principles.

Nat LeCour

Executive Vice President

American Federation of Teachers

NO Imagine being taken to the local jail for talking during a school assembly. Or being arrested and charged with making terroristic threats for playing cops and robbers with a paper gun. That's right, arrested! Both incidents...