LAWYERS LEERY OF 'ZERO TOLERANCE'

SAN DIEGO "Zero tolerance" policies in schools can be unfair, some lawyers
argue, because a student found with aspirin in his pocket can get suspended
as quickly as one with marijuana.

Leaders of the 400,000-member American Bar Association probably will come
out against such rules at the close of their winter meeting, even though
some schools say lawyers were a big part of the reason for adopting zero
tolerance policies.

Opponents of the policies at the ABA and in some civil liberties groups
point to examples they say show zero tolerance has run amok: A Pittsburgh
kindergartner disciplined in 1999 because his Halloween firefighter costume
included a plastic ax; and a Cobb County, Ga., sixth-grader suspended last
year because the 10-inch key chain on her Tweety bird wallet is considered
a weapon.

School districts say parents often demand the policies and like them unless
their child is targeted.