Zero sense: Draconian school policies.

• Author: Doherty, Brian
• Position: Citings - Brief article

FOR 10 YEARS, social scientists have been studying the effects of "zero tolerance" school policies, which treat any technical infraction as harshly as possible, without regard to mitigating circumstances, the rule breaker's intentions, or proportionality. In an August report reviewing that decade of research, the American Psychological Association finds a rich legacy of bureaucratic silliness but little evidence that the rules benefit the kids they're supposed to protect.

The examples of zero tolerance enforcement cited in the study include expulsions for possessing Tylenol, for having a knife in a lunchbox (placed there by Mom to cut a lunchtime apple), for talking on a cell phone (to Morn, a soldier on duty in Iraq), and for watching other kids...