Terrorist suspended from school

[auditor0007]

liberals are so fucked up. 45 days in reform school for a six year old who brings cub scout tools to school didn't threaten anybody,,, yesss, and the kids who beat the shit out of the other kid on the school bus won't spend a day in "reform school. Liberals are so fucked up.

Liberals? Zero tolerance laws are the result of those freaks in Colorado...it's got nothing to do with liberals or conservatives, for that matter.

Screwball.

I have to agree with you on this Ravi. This has nothing to do with being liberal or conservative. There are many of both who support and oppose zero tolerance policies. And you are correct; these policies were enacted, for the most part, as a result of the Columbine massacre. The problem is that no zero tolerance policy is going to stop that kind of thing from happening again. If a student wants to hurt someone, they will bring a weapon of their choice to school and use it. Kids with these kinds of problems are not concerned with zero tolerance policies.

Now, I don't think anyone in their right mind is suggesting that kids should be permitted to bring a weapon to school for any reason. However, when a kid brings something that might be construed to be a weapon to school, with no intent on using it to harm anyone, then they should be reprimanded in a reasonable manner. With really young kids, an explanation of why they shouldn't bring a certain item to school along with a meeting including the parents would be more than sufficient, especially if it is a first time offense.

I don't have an issue with schools banning certain items, but to pull a kid out of school when no harm was intended is just stupid and it will do more damage to that kid long term than it will helping prevent anyone from being threatened or harmed.

 

[auditor0007]

If you don't see the obvious contradiction between your first and second sentences, then you don't actually understand what "zero tolerance" means.

That's not a contradiction at all. Zero tolerance to kids bringing weapons to school isn't a bad thing. What's rotten is the blanket punishment doled out to all regardless of the item and intent of the child.

Like I said, you need to educate yourself about how zero tolerance policies work. They eliminate any flexibility for discretion and therefore can hamstring common sense. It is PRECISELY the zero tolerance policy being followed that has led to this circumstance.

There usually is room for some discretion on the part of school administrators. However, in many cases the zero tolerance policy binds them to certain punishments. Part of the problem is that in some states, bringing a weapon to school, such as a knife, requires a mandatory expulsion, regardless of circumstance. This is why the high school kid who had a knife in his tackle box was expelled. In the end, zero tolerance is bad policy because, in many cases, it does not allow for any discretion.

 

[auditor0007]

You're right and my guess is if the parents fight this they will win. No.judge wants to put a 6 year old in jail. In the mean time I imagine he could be enrolled in a private school.

That is another problem. Once a student is expelled, no other school system in the state has to accept them. In most cases they will uphold the expulsion and not allow the student to enroll. The only options are home schooling, or the kid sits out.