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Ask the Superintendent - Feb. 22, 2006
Questions are still arriving in response to my
request a few weeks ago. They are greatly
appreciated in that they provide an open dialogue
between the school district and the community. I did
receive a number of questions in writing, by
telephone, and even personally, on the topic of
“Zero Tolerance in Schools.” In each case, the
individuals asking the questions either requested I
not use their name or said, “it was not necessary to
attach my name.” Any request to withhold the
identity of an individual will always be honored.
“Zero Tolerance in Schools” is an attempt to
implement a simplistic solution to resolve
complicated problems. It sets in stone a uniform
penalty or a required discipline outcome to respond
to a violation of school policy and/or inappropriate
behavior by a student.
At first blush, this concept sounds wonderful. “You
do the crime, you do the time.” In fact, in the
1990’s, many boards of education and school
districts rushed to adopt “Zero Tolerance” policies
in the wake of the horrific violent acts, which were
occurring in our nation’s schools. It was thought
that “Zero Tolerance” would keep schools safe. Many
of the schools that reacted quickly and without
careful thinking, soon became a victim of their own
“Zero Tolerance” policies when they were forced to
remove students from school for a year or more for a
variety of weapons/drug related violations. Simply
stated, “Zero Tolerance” means no exceptions, no
extenuating circumstances. To make my point:
- An elementary
school child was removed from school for a year
when his mom sent him to school with a butter
knife to spread icing on his birthday cupcakes.
- An Eagle Scout
returning from a weekend campout was removed
from school for a year for inadvertently leaving
his Swiss Army knife in his backpack. His A. P.
French teacher discovered it when it fell from
his backpack and hit the floor as he was
preparing to leave the class.
In each of these
cases, the schools involved had to issue the maximum
penalty because of the “Zero Tolerance” policy. It
is the belief of many educators that “Zero
Tolerance” doesn’t work because one size does not
fit all. Competent administrators should have the
flexibility to differentiate and apply the
appropriate discipline for each situation. “Zero
Tolerance” is punishment not discipline, and schools
should never punish, they should only discipline.
Schools discipline because with discipline comes
learning. Simply stated, there is no place in
schools for weapons, drugs, inappropriate items or
violent behavior. However, we must never lose sight
of the fact that we are dealing with young people
and even “good kids” at times do foolish things.
Schools must have “no tolerance” for inappropriate
items and inappropriate behavior. However, they must
also have the ability to apply discretionary
discipline for each individual circumstance. It is
more work, it takes more time, but it is the most
equitable policy. The Goshen School District does
not have a “Zero Tolerance” policy; we have a
Student Code of Conduct in which we have no
tolerance for inappropriate behavior. The
administrators in place at the time when “Zero
Tolerance” was gaining favor believed there was a
better option and adopted this concept which is
still in place today. We recognize we are not
perfect, nor are we immune from inappropriate items
being brought to our schools or inappropriate
behavior in our schools. Whenever we must deal with
one of these situations, each instance is treated
seriously, and parents are involved. These incidents
are referred to the Superintendent for what is
called a Superintendent’s Hearing, which is a legal
proceeding involving a Hearing Officer, an attorney
for the school district, the student and his family
and their legal counsel, to determine if additional
discipline is warranted. Each case is treated based
on its own merit, and long-range suspension or
disciplinary action is determined.
“Zero Tolerance” is a very controversial topic and a
concept that is often misunderstood. Questions such
as these, no matter how difficult, will always be
addressed which will result in a clearer
understanding of how our schools function. It is
always better to discuss these questions openly as
opposed to sharing misinformation. I greatly
appreciate these inquiries.
Roy Reese
Superintendent of Schools
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