Vern Bennett, superintendent of Fargo's public schools for 27 years, says administrators should be very concerned about what happens to students after they are expelled. We must treat the bad thing but not destroy the student nor take away their education. You can't forget the human behind the behavior. Bennett says schools have an obligation to offer alternative education to students who've been expelled, either through correspondence courses or with home tutors. In some cases they must encourage anger management training, drug and alcohol treatment, community service or counseling with the victim.
Rehabilitation needs to be the goal.
Riestenberg says her department recommends restorative measures, whereby students who misbehave must try to fix the problems they have created. For example, a boy who bullies another may participate in conferences with the victim and the victim's family to understand the effect his bullying had on the other boy and, hopefully, feel true remorse for his behavior. But we must not put society in a position where we destroy people to the point where they need revenge.