SCHOOLS SEE DRUG, WEAPONS OFFENSES JUMP

Zero-Tolerance Incidents Up 10.8% In State

The number of times Tennessee students attacked their teachers or took drugs,
guns or other weapons to school has gone up 10.8% since the 1999-2000 school
year, a new state report shows.

Zero-tolerance offenses - those serious enough to carry mandatory suspensions -
grew from 3,651 incidents in 1999-2000 to 4,047 in 2001-02, while the total
number of students statewide increased by less than 1%, the report says.

''The zero-tolerance offenses have been increasing at a rate faster than the
enrollment, and we really don't know what the reasons are,'' said Ethel Detch,
director of education accountability for the Comptroller of the Treasury, which
conducted the study.

State education officials contend that schools are doing a better job of
cracking down on violent incidents and reporting the numbers to the state. They
note that although the report looks at only three years, the number of
incidents statewide dropped slightly to 4,035 last year.

The report gives schools high marks for participating in programs aimed at
preventing violence in schools by teaching life skills, reducing bullying and
creating peaceful school environments. It also highlights the growing number of
schools finding creative ways to punish offenders.

''More resources are being developed other than expelling students,'' said Mike
Herrmann, director of school safety for the state Department of Education. ''We
have more going to alternative schools.''

The study found that more than half of the offenders were returned to school or
placed in alternative schools, where they could continue to get an education.
It urges schools to continue looking for other options and increasing
preventive measures.

''Many of these kids are already behind in school and then you take them out
for a year. They are more likely to drop out,'' Detch said.

State and federal law gives school directors the option of altering penalties
for zero-tolerance offenders on a case-by-case basis. In the three years of the
study, that right was exercised in about 15% of all cases.

''Every director should use just good old horse sense,'' said Mark Beal,
director of Houston County Schools in Erin, Tenn. ''Our first goal is to try to
see that students graduate and become productive citizens.''

Some systems, like the one in Wayne County on the Alabama border, ask a
committee to review any suspension of 10 days or more.

''They recognize the value of students' being in school and what they would
lose being out of school for a year,'' said Jerry Pigg, director of the
2,700-student system.

However, the study pointed out that 20% of offending students were expelled but
not moved to alternative schools or allowed back in regular classrooms.

''Some of them would have gone into the juvenile system and be in custody, but
it's a number that concerns us,'' Detch said.

The study showed that Tennessee's urban school districts had more
zero-tolerance offenses than smaller districts, which averaged 2.1 offenses for
every 1,000 students. Metro Schools had the highest number with 11.3 offenses
for every 1,000 students. The Chattanooga, Knoxville and Memphis school systems
all had 5.3 offenses or fewer per 1,000 students.

Metro officials said their numbers were higher because they expanded their
definition of zero-tolerance offenses to include participation in a gang,
verbal threats against a teacher, sexual battery, inhaling drugs and
threatening violence. Earlier this year they changed their policy to be more in
line with the state's definition.

Drug offenses topped the number of infractions statewide each year, hitting a
high of 53% in 2000.

''It's the biggest problem we have,'' Detch said. ''It's not just a school
problem. It's a community problem.''

Possession of a weapon other than a firearm came in second, followed by battery
and possession of alcohol, officials said.

Students in ninth grade were more likely to commit offenses than students in
other grades.

''It goes up in middle school and tops out in ninth grade,'' Detch said.
''Everyone knows it's a difficult time in life.''

Metro received high marks in the study for consistently offering other
educational options to students. ''It's not a guarantee, but we generally find
the space,'' said Joe Anderson, director of safety for Metro Schools. ''We try
to make that offering in every case.''

During the three-year period of the study, 12 school systems had no
zero-tolerance offenses. The systems in the Midstate included city ones in
Fayetteville and Manchester.