What is zero tolerance?
Zero-tolerance policies are administrative rules intended to address specific problems associated with school safety and discipline. In 1994 Congress passed the Gun-Free Schools Act, which required states to legislate zero-tolerance laws or risk losing federal funds (Martin 2000). In response, various states, counties, and districts have developed their own policies in tune with local needs. In implementing the policies, some administrators have cast a broad net, treating both minor and major incidents with equal severity to “send a message” to potential violators (Skiba and Peterson 1999). The Gun-Free Schools Act included language allowing local review on a case-by-case basis. Some administrators have declined to exercise this discretion, believing instead that continued unwavering application of zero tolerance is necessary to deal with disruptive students (Skiba and Peterson). Sometimes even exemplary students are caught in the zero-tolerance net. For instance, during the 1997-8 sch
From its inception in federal drug policy of the 1980’s, zero tolerance school discipline has been intended primarily as a method of sending a message that certain behaviors will not be tolerated, by punishing both major and minor offenses severely. The broadness of zero tolerance drug programs led to a host of civil rights controversies1. But the term caught on among educators concerned about a near-epidemic of youth violence, and school boards across the country adopted zero tolerance policies for a range of disruptive behaviors. In 1994, President Clinton signed the Gun-Free Schools Act, mandating a one-year expulsion for weapons in school.
