Tuesday, July 24, 2007 8:08 AM PDT
By Jesse Froehling
Frank Bejarano, the president of the Santa Cruz County Unified School District No. 35 board, asked administrators at a study session Tuesday evening to consider the following real-life disciplinary scenarios.
Shannon, a 10-year-old, discovered at lunchtime that her mother had put a small paring knife in her lunch to cut an apple. Shannon realized that the knife might violate the school's zero tolerance policy, and turned it in to a teacher, who told her that she had done the right thing. Should Shannon have been disciplined?
Lisa was an honor student, a cheerleader, a Student Council member, a violinist in the school orchestra, an award winner at the school science fair and the recipient of high praise for a project in her honors history class. However, she violated the school alcohol policy by bringing a bottle of cherry 7UP with added grain alcohol to school. What should have happened?
David, an Arizona seventh grader, inspired by the movie "October Sky," a biography of NASA rocket scientist Homer Hickam, brought a homemade rocket made from a potato chip canister to school. The potato chip canister was fueled with three match heads. What result was appropriate?
In Pennsylvania, a 5-year-old wore a five-inch plastic axe as part of his firefighter's costume to a Halloween party. Should he have been disciplined?
A 6-year-old in Colorado Springs. Colo., was observed giving another student some "candy" with a brand that the teacher did not recognize. "It was not something you would purchase in a grocery store," said a district spokesman. "It was from a health food store." What was the proper course of action?
The scenarios stem from state and federally mandated zero tolerance policies adopted from federal drug policy in the 1980s. The policy aimed to send a message to students that certain behavior would not be tolerated in any way. Bejarano wanted to discuss whether zero tolerance is the same as communism. Does it seem Utopian on paper but fail to function in real life?
The majority of state zero tolerance laws focus on drugs, alcohol and weapons, but some local administrators favored adding zero tolerance policies for gangs and fighting.
"I think we really should crack down on gangs," said Bobby Valdez, a board member. "There should be no tolerance."
But when does a group of kids become a gang? Is it simply a basketball team without a basketball? as Bejarano quipped. David Verdugo, the assistant principal at Calabasas, said that the district has been working with law enforcement to refine the science of fishing out gang members but, nevertheless, what really constitutes a gang? Is it a group of kids who dress the same? Or maybe it is a group that bullies others?
Further, where do you draw the line in schoolyard violence? Bejarano asked. What if a kid stands up to a bully? "I ask you to consider this," he said. "If you're out in public somewhere with your family and someone punches you in the face, are you going to go find help or are you going to stand up for yourself?"
"I wouldn't put myself in that situation to begin with," answered John Fanning, the president of Calabasas Middle School.
The problem with zero tolerance policies, Bejarano pointed out, is the lack of discretion. But as Dan Fontes, the district superintendent, said later by telephone, "It's important that we get on the same page. Teachers can try to use good judgment, but if they make a mistake, a student can get hurt."
Also, the district may face legal action. Teachers today must worry that if they allowed a student to stand up to a bully, the bully's parents may sue the district.
If one student brings alcohol to school and gets slapped on the wrist, and another gets suspended for the same offense, the district may expose itself to other forms of lawsuits. As a result, the district must try to create policies that encompass the entire disciplinary spectrum, but as officials found out during discussion, the situation is a bit of a Catch 22. Cases cannot be addressed on a case-by-case basis because administrators run the risk of treating someone unfairly or letting someone off the hook. Equally difficult is adopting an all-encompassing policy because there are bound to be exceptions and loopholes.
A district handbook helps teachers decide what offenses must be reported. For example, any person who believes that a child has been the victim of neglect, abuse or has been deprived of essential medical care must report it to authorities. These reporting requirements, however, can become convoluted when the case is not so cut and dried.
Bejarano introduced the discussion by reading from a Nogales International sheriff's report that poked fun at school authorities for calling the deputies when two 7-year-olds got in a fight at school.
"A lot of times they'll (law enforcement) give us this blank stare, like why are you calling me over this," said Fontes. "But we have to." The schools' reporting policy mirrors the criminal abuse statute, which "applies to any person who causes a child to suffer physical injury or abuse" - even if that person is another 7-year-old. The argument seems to be that it is better to be over prepared than to miss something. It is better that a zero tolerance policy forces a teacher to contact authorities over a fight between kindergarteners than allows a teacher the leeway to accidentally miss signs of parental child abuse.
But as the 5-year-old Halloween firefighter found out, zero tolerance - even though it aims to protect students - can sometimes go overboard. The kid was suspended for bringing a simulated weapon to school. After firefighters around the country contacted the school to complain, the school officials composed an open letter to firefighters across the country stating that they never intended to offend firefighters by referring to the axe as a weapon. However, they defended the zero tolerance policy against weapons and simulated weapons as fair.
Even though Lisa, the honor student with the spiked 7UP, had never been to the principal's office for any disciplinary reason, she was assigned to five months in a military style boot camp. Had she been charged in juvenile court, she would have received a ticket and a fine.
David, the rocket-crazed seventh grader, was suspended for the the school term after the police were called and they classified the rocket as a weapon.
The 6-year-old who shared candy with his friend? Thinking that the candy may have contained drugs, the school administrators called an ambulance. The candy was determined to be lemon drops. Nevertheless, the kid was suspended for a half day.
And Shannon? The girl who turned in the paring knife her mother sent in her lunch box? She was expelled for bringing a knife to school in violation of the school's zero tolerance policy.
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