April 27, 2004, 9:44PM

ZERO TOLERANCE

Common Sense Must Be A Factor In School Discipline

Common sense makes a wonderful tool when setting standards for conduct in
the public schools. Every teacher and administrator ought to employ it when
making disciplinary decisions.

Based on recent complaints about harsh punishments for minor infractions,
however, common sense is in short supply in some schools.

Perfectly reasonable adults can disagree about what constitutes common
sense, which is why "zero tolerance" discipline policies might seem a
godsend that takes the guesswork out of predicting the consequences for bad
behavior. However, zero tolerance also can be a nightmare that punishes
students out of proportion to their crimes.

Many school districts across the United States adopted severe disciplinary
policies laying out rigid punishments, especially after two Littleton,
Colo., students killed 12 classmates, a teacher and themselves five years
ago at Columbine High School. Parents and school officials demanded
measures to keep schools free from weapons, drugs and violence.

An April 18 Chronicle report by reporter Rachel Graves presented evidence
that some districts have gone too far, greatly expanding the number of
prohibited behaviors and possessions considered contraband, and punishing
even first offenders with special discipline school, suspension, expulsion,
police citation or arrest.

Now a backlash is growing against draconian measures such as random drug
and weapons searches. But the policies also have their staunch defenders,
including anxious parents and school administrators who like the idea that
zero tolerance requires them to employ almost no judgment of their own.

Another plus for school officials is that many of these policies do not
allow parents to appeal discipline decisions. Depending on one's point of
view, this rule returns the disciplinary authority to schools or is a
situation ripe for abuse.

Various compilations of zero tolerance data show that black students,
Hispanics and children with disabilities are found disproportionately on
the receiving end of such disciplinary policies.

The question is whether suspending a child for having a nail file at school
is worth the missed class time. Or whether, as is the case in the Katy
Independent School District, a student is subject to arrest and a criminal
record for throwing food, engaging in inappropriate displays of affection,
carrying a pager or having a skateboard. In HISD, a call to police requires
an accusation of murder, aggravated assault, arson, drug use or trade,
terrorist threats, weapons or organized crime - the sort of illegal
behavior that clearly warrants a call to police.

Safe schools are important and critical to learning, but instilling perfect
student behavior is a pipe dream. When weighed against the far more
significant goal of expanding Texas' pool of well-educated high school
graduates, the state's best interests - not to mention the child's - are
not served by arresting or expelling students simply for being obnoxious.