Now, those policies sometimes include punishments for nonviolent offenses like smoking, swearing, and tardiness. Students who defy the rules face suspension or expulsion, long term removal from school. In some districts, expelled students sit out of classes for months because there are no alternatives set up to educate them. More than 87,000 students were expelled nationwide in the 1997-98 school year, the latest statistics available, according to the Office for Civil Rights, a part of the U.S. Department of Education. It s easy to see the dilemma schools face.
Disruptive students take teachers time and keep others from learning.
Parents demand that schools keep their children safe, and administrators are afraid to ignore the slightest problem in light of shootings like the one March 5 in Santee, Calif., where two students died and 13 were injured. But critics say when students are arrested for making inappropriate comments and kicked out of school for childhood pranks, things have gone too far. The American Bar Association voted recently to oppose the zero-tolerance movement until punishments are changed to better fit the crimes and schools consider a student s intent and history. Even some educators are rethinking zero-tolerance policies to make them more flexible. Still, school officials and police say no threat in the classroom should be taken lightly.