Is Zero Tolerance Effective?
Despite legislative support for zero tolerance, the policy fails to show effectiveness (Skiba, 2004; Casella, 2003). Skiba (2004) argues that the assumptions underlying zero tolerance have never been met and its purpose was never fulfilled. Initially, it was designed to be part of a comprehensive prevention program. However, many schools focused only on the punitive aspect and failed to implement prevention programs. Zero tolerance was not intended to work in isolation. Casella (2003) also examines the effectiveness of zero tolerance policies among urban students. Although research has found that zero tolerance is related to an improvement in the rates of violence in schools, he claims that minority students are at a disadvantage as a result of this kind of policy. Latino and African American students are more likely to suffer the punishments of zero tolerance because of issues of institutional racism previously mentioned. Specifically, Latino and African American students are more lik
