'ZERO-TOLERANCE' OFFENSES RISE

Outpace enrollment as drugs dominate

NASHVILLE - Drug offenses are by far the largest category of serious
offenses under Tennessee's safe-schools "zero-tolerance" laws, which
require suspension or alternative placement of students who violate
them, according to a new study.

And although zero-tolerance polices were enacted to deter students
from committing serious offenses that threaten the safety of others at
school, zero-tolerance offenses have increased at a significantly
faster rate than student enrollment, the study by the state
Comptroller's Office found.

Statewide, zero-tolerance offenses increased from 3,651 in school year
1999-2000 to 4,047 in 2001-02, an increase of almost 11 percent over
the three years. During the same time period, the number of Tennessee
public school students rose less than 1 percent, from 894,397 in
1999-2000 to 900,510 in 2001-02.

Drug offenses accounted for more than half of all zero-tolerance
offenses in each of the three school years, including 58 percent of
them in 2001-02. Other categories include carrying guns and other
weapons to school, assaulting or threatening to assault school
personnel and other students, and alcohol possession.

The analysis of zero-tolerance data by state Comptroller John Morgan's
office is the second since Tennessee enacted its first school
zero-tolerance law in 1995. The last study was released in 1998 and
was based largely on survey results because school districts were not
required to report data to the state at that time.

The new study found that only four-tenths of 1 percent of all students
attending Tennessee schools committed zero-tolerance offenses during
the three years examined.

Although more than half of all zero-tolerance offenders were returned
to school after suspension or were placed in alternative schools,
about 20 percent continue to be expelled without alternative placement
as required by the law. Researchers said that figure is important
because the students may have difficulty catching up and eventually
drop out of school.

"Unfortunately, this report reveals trends in zero-tolerance offenses
that are consistent with our prior reports which date back to 1998,"
Morgan said Tuesday. "We suggest that the General Assembly should
consider creating stronger incentives for school systems and school
officials to develop and utilize alternatives to expulsion. . .

"There are probably some children who are beyond reach, but I would
hope that we have made every reasonable effort to help every child
succeed," Morgan said.

The report also found:

a.. Memphis City Schools ranks third among urban school districts in
the rate of zero-tolerance offenses, with 5 offenses per 1,000
students in 2001-02. Nashville-Davidson County schools ranked first
with 11.3 offenses per 1,000 students.

b.. African-American students continue to be disproportionately
represented among zero-tolerance offenders. African-Americans
accounted for 24 percent of public school enrollment statewide, but 37
percent of all zero-tolerance violators in 2001-02. White students
comprised 72 percent of student enrollment that year but 60 percent of
zero-tolerance offenses.

c.. The 9th grade is the peak grade for zero-tolerance offenses
statewide. Students in the 9th grade committed about 25 percent of all
zero-tolerance offenses in each of the three years studied.
Zero-tolerance violations begin to climb between 5th and 6th grade and
then spike sharply as students enter the 9th grade, then decline for
the last three years of high school.