TOLERATING ZERO TOLERANCE

Colorado Taking Welcome Step in Scrutinizing Policies

The only place a zero-tolerance policy looks good is on paper. This is
particularly true when it comes to children -- a community doesn't
want its schools to tolerate bullies, or campus drug abuse, or
underage drinking and driving. We just won't tolerate that!

In practice, the policies get all tripped up in reality, with some
children being punished in outrageous ways for minor infractions and
some authorities being hamstrung by the policies they've either
enacted or are ordered to follow.

The majority of U.S. schools have zero tolerance policies regarding
drugs and alcohol. But look at reality: Children getting suspended or
even expelled from school for having Tylenol or cough drops. We don't
like to tolerate weaponry of any kind: We tend to hate the fact that
second graders get the boot from school for having a water gun or nail
clippers. And where does a butter knife fall?

And these are not overblown fears. These are the result of having zero
tolerance policies and fear-based tunnel vision. A girl in Longmont in
the 1990s was expelled for the knife she used to cut her apple -- a
knife that she herself turned in out of fear it was afoul of the
policy. She was readmitted to school after national publicity, which
lead to Colorado giving administrators some more individual discretion.

A full decade later in 2009, the U.S. Supreme Court heard a case
involving a 13-year-old Arizona child who was strip-searched after
being accused of having Ibuprofen pills. She had no pills. In an 8-1
decision, the court called the search degrading, unreasonable and
unconstitutional.

But even after countless questionable cases and expulsions, and even a
Supreme Court ruling, the policies remain.

Colorado lawmakers are now taking a welcome look at the policies and
how they are applied in our state. Strict policies put into place
after the Columbine High School massacre in 1999 are funneling many
kids into contact with police and the courts for running afoul of the
rules at school. Lawmakers said about 100,000 students in Colorado
have been referred to police during the last decade after getting in
trouble in school. (Some of them are juvenile criminals, and should
be. Many are not.)

The Legislature has created a new task force to consider an
alternative approach. The group consists of lawmakers and experts in
school discipline and is scheduled to report its recommendations in
November.

Having a school system that won't tolerate violence, weapons, drugs
and drinking on campuses is good. Having a one-size-fits-all policy
won't work, when the infractions clearly come in all sizes.