Letter: Zero tolerance policy has place in schools

Wednesday, Aug. 16, 2006 | 7:38 a.m.

I just got through reading your Sunday editorial decrying the "zero tolerance" policies taken by many school districts toward violence and drugs - simulated or real. First of all, it's important to recognize what's driven this policy, and many other policies, in school districts. One cause has been the litigious nature of American society. Schools are often "damned if they do, damned if they don't." Lawyers and parents often see school districts as having deep pockets and so decide to spin the wheel of justice.

A side effect of this has been the growth of administrative bureaucracies, a large portion of which is tasked to create a paper trail and monitor compliance with laws and regulations, so as to protect school districts - and the taxpayers who support them - against lawsuits. Another reason for zero tolerance policies has been weak administrators or teachers who lack common sense or who have applied laws and regulations unevenly.

However, these aren't necessarily the biggest reasons for zero tolerance. A final reason for zero tolerance policies was the Columbine shootings. I teach in a high school in a pretty upscale neighborhood, and I can tell you that there was a definite culture change in our school, and it began the day after Columbine. One day, the "inmates were running the asylum." The next day, the administration, teachers and parents made it very clear: This is an institution of learning, and any item or behavior that distracts from that task has no place in our school.

Since that time, I and my colleagues have had to spend relatively little time and energy dealing with behavioral problems, allowing us to focus on the school's raison d'etre: learning.

If there are still administrators and teachers who lack common sense in applying the laws and rules, deal with them on an ad hoc basis, but don't scrap the whole policy. I and the majority of my colleagues and students prefer dealing with learning issues, as opposed to dealing with children who think schools are places that exist to feed their need for entertainment and self-aggrandizement.

Gregory Grant, Las Vegas