Pubdate: Sat, 08 Mar 2008
Source: Wisconsin State Journal (WI)
Copyright: 2008 Madison Newspapers, Inc.
Contact:  http://www.madison.com/wsj/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/506
Author: Susan Lampert Smith
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/testing.htm (Drug Test)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth)

SECOND THOUGHTS ON ZERO TOLERANCE POLICIES

The biggest problem with "zero tolerance " policies is  that they
require zero thought.

A kid smokes pot or drinks on school property? Bam!  They 're out for
a year.

Simple, right? Even a kid could understand it. Except,  sometimes,
teenagers aren 't so great about thinking  through the
consequences.

A few weeks ago I wrote about a group of Marshall  Middle School girls
expelled for a year for alleged  marijuana use. The district offers no
services to  expelled students, and one family couldn 't find  another
public school that would take their daughter.

Since then, I 've heard similar stories. In one  district, the parents
didn 't see the expulsion file  until the hearing. It was full of
errors, even calling  their daughter by a wrong first name, but still
the  School Board used the "investigation " to kick her out  for a
year.

In another district, a middle schooler was expelled for  a year for
letting her friend try a prescription pill.  Now, her mother writes,
the girl is a "pariah " who  must apply for permission to be on school
grounds for  special events.

In still another, the parents couldn 't afford private  school, and
their young teen has been without any  formal education for a year.

A teacher also wrote, questioning why I think the  schools should be
lenient to students who break clear  rules.

Actually, I don 't. I 'm all in favor of punishment.  But do we as a
society really want teens out of school  for a year? Some may never
come back. And then there  are fairness issues. Many times, these kids
come from  poor families that don 't hire lawyers like wealthier  ones
would. And often, when kids are doing bad things  at school, it 's
because bad things are happening at  home.

The good news is that some school districts have moved  beyond the
black-and-white world of zero tolerance.

In Adams County, the Bridges for Youth program provides  educational
enrichment and tutoring for expelled kids,  so they don 't go without
education.

The Monona Grove School District helps kids to learn  from their
mistakes. About six years ago, former School  Board member Mary Possin
said the board became alarmed  over the large number of kids it was
expelling for  first-time alcohol or drug use. It came up with a first
  offender program modeled after one in Janesville.

Kids caught for the first time must agree to a drug  assessment and
treatment program, if necessary. They  must submit to random drug
tests, remain on school  grounds all day despite open campus, and lose
their  parking privileges.

If they meet these conditions, their expulsions are  held in abeyance,
and if they 're good for a year,  their records are cleared. It 's a
good middle path,  because it allows kids to stay in school, saves the
  district the expense of a full expulsion hearing, and  may catch
budding addiction problems before they get  worse.

Has it worked? Beautifully. Superintendent Gary  Schumacher says there
have been only two repeat  offenders of more than 50 students who have
gone  through the process during the past six years.

"We 're in the learning business, " Schumacher said.  "If a kid can
make a mistake and learn from it, that 's  good. "

Sounds like other districts could learn from it, too.
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MAP posted-by: Derek