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.