Though there is extensive research on the health outcomes of individuals who have experienced adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), society at large has not embraced this ground-breaking research and many still believe that the use of harsh punishment for students provides the same intended result as a discipline approach that teaches coping…

The impact of exclusionary discipline on students is clear and negative as we report herein. The impacts of exclusionary discipline have been negatively linked to the academic and social development of disciplined students. We argue that this discipline form has been disproportionately used among certain groups, particularly those students of…

In this commentary on the special series, I argue that whereas a zero-tolerance approach to school discipline is "something stupid" (Kauffman & Brigham, 2000) the use of suspension might not be. Despite its limitations, suspension and other forms of punishment serve as effective deterrents of behavior problems for most children, especially when…

With the passing of the Gun Free School Act of 1994, the 1990s bore witness to the birth of zero-tolerance policies. During the remainder of that decade, several school shootings occurred that solidified zero-tolerance in schools across the United States. With the possibility of threats constantly increasing, school personnel having a thorough…

In his provocatively titled recent book, "The No Asshole Rule: Building a Civilized Workplace and Surviving One That Isn't", Robert I. Sutton argues for zero tolerance of "bullies, creeps, jerks, weasels, tormentors, tyrants, serial slammers, despots, [and] unconstrained egomaniacs" in the workplace. These individuals systematically prey on their…

Looking at the disproportionate suspension of African American, Black male students through the lens of critical race theory, this presents arguments from a CRT how the disproportionate suspension of Black male students is rooted in white supremacy and racist policy in the United States. Local recommendations are offered for Oakland Unified School…

Much has been written about the adaptation from criminology of the "Broken Windows" theory of order maintenance in successful urban educational models. Yet, the manner in which the theory is written and discussed often misses the nuances and feel of the theory as successfully applied. This misunderstanding has lead to its conflation with the "Zero…

Crutcher, an advocate for children above all else, revisits a few of the most urgent issues facing teachers--Censorship, "No Child Left Without Life Threatening Test Anxiety," Zero Tolerance, to name a few--and an encouraging word about addressing them. He believes teachers "have the toughest job in our culture," and urges them to "rise up . . .…

Most courts have flexibly interpreted the constitutional requirement of procedural and substantive due process in favor of zero-tolerance expulsion decisions. While being sensitive to community intolerance for threats to school safety (student possession of guns or drugs), school leaders should modulate development and enforcement of expulsion…

Because bullying affects school climate, schools and parents must address it by collaboratively developing guidelines for zero tolerance, effective monitoring, well-publicized consequences, and supports for the parents of both victims and aggressors. (SK)

In this article, the author discusses the effects of zero-tolerance policies in schools and depicts how the policies no longer make schools safe, even though many educators see them as the backbone of school discipline. A 2000 study by the American Educational Research Association (AERA) confirms that stringent zero-tolerance policies, though…

Children of Indian descent have won first place in five of the last seven years of the Scripps National Spelling Bee, and this year they made up 30 of the 273 contestants, a proportion many times larger than their 0.66% of the population. These achievements were possible because some Indian parents can become obsessive when it comes to the…

A disturbing increase in incidents of racism and prejudice is occurring in schools. Suggested strategies for improving school race relations include the following: (1) adopt a firm policy of zero tolerance for racism in any form; (2) start early; (3) expand social contacts between racial groups; and (4) add multicultural education programs to the…

Discussion of the increasing emphasis of school discipline and zero tolerance procedures and policies suggests there is little evidence that they have resulted in increased school safety or improved student behavior. A preventive, early response disciplinary model is suggested to increase the range of effective options for addressing violence and…

This article focuses on the three kinds of school safety: (1) physical; (2) emotional; and (3) intellectual, and details how to determine if a school is safe. Excellence in schools demands that schools be physically, emotionally, and intellectually safe for students, while "good enough" schools are simply physically safe. Here, the…