I\'m Summer, a mouthy, sarcastic bitch. I\'m passionate about natural birth, long term breastfeeding, and living naturally. I curse too much, love tattoos, and will some day be crushed to death by my book collection. I homeschool, dream of gardening, and swing to the left. 
Is Zero Tolerance Racist?
Almost everyone has heard of the zero tolerance policies many schools use. By these policies there is no warnings, no sympathy, and no extenuating circumstances. Any and all violations result in the harshest punishment available. Too often this results in ridiculous punishments. Like the straight A student being suspended for taking her birth control.
But could these policies also be racist? That’s what the ACLU out of Michigan thinks. In fact they even have a report out on this very thing, showing the “school-to-prison pipeline” where students who get the short end of the punishment stick in school are more likely headed to jail as adults. And that may not be because they’re just bad kids, it seems to be more because they are perceived as bad.
Jesse Taylor, who brought this report up, makes a pretty good case against the zero-tolerance policies.
There’s a reason we don’t prescribe the death penalty for every crime. If you’re going to be put to death for stealing a loaf of bread, then you’re not going to be put to super death for mugging someone, or raping them, or killing them. It works the same way in schools – when almost every transgression is met with suspension or expulsion, teaching a kid that asking “Why?” when a teacher says stop is the same thing as bringing a gun to school is a great way to encourage a kid to bring a gun to school. Why would you have trust in a system that targets you for overwhelming punishment for almost anything you do, and lets others skate for the same actions?
It’s a valid point. If the punishment is the same for making a simple mistake as it is for a serious crime, then why even bother any more. It’s also a great example of how school is far from “the real world”, as some anti-homeschooling advocates claim. In the real world I don’t get life in prison for speeding or running a red light. There are degrees of punishment to fit the crime.
But back to race. How could zero tolerance policies be racist. The ALCU report points out:
“In school district after school district, from one end of the state to another, we found that black kids are consistently suspended in numbers that are considerably disproportionate to their representation in the various student populations,” said Mark P. Fancher, ACLU of Michigan Racial Justice Project staff attorney and principal author of the report. “More alarming still are studies we examined that show that the behavior of black kids and white kids is essentially the same, and black kids are still kicked out of school proportionately more often. This is true regardless of socio-economic factors and geography.”
Studies show that when students are repeatedly suspended, they are substantially at greater risk of leaving school altogether. In at least one study of the Grand Rapids School District, 31 percent of students with three or more suspensions before spring semester of their sophomore year dropped out, while only 6 percent of students with no history of suspensions dropped out. Although there are few efforts made to track the whereabouts of students who leave school, 68 percent of Michigan’s prisoners are identified as high school dropouts.
I’m not claiming that all teachers are racists looking for an excuse to banish the black kids. But sometimes our perception changes based on what we have been taught. A short white boy standing up in class and being loud may be perceived differently than a larger black boy doing the same. The teachers may not even realize they are acting on stereotypes or cultural assumptions. And many parents might not have the resources to fight an unwarranted suspension.
One parent who had to fight for her child had this to say in the report (emphasis mine)
“As an attorney, I am highly trained to deal with the loss of rights and conflict resolution, but even I was at a loss when my daughter’s school nearly expelled her for bringing an eyebrow shaper to class,” said Desiree Ferguson of Detroit. “As a criminal defense expert, I knew that the charge against my daughter was unsustainable as a matter of law. But she could still have suffered serious and enduring consequences from the accusation if I had not been armed with the necessary resources to intervene immediately and fight zealously for her. I can only imagine what parents with fewer resources encounter. By coming forward and by being a part of this report, I am not only advocating for my daughter, but for all the parents who cannot or don’t know that they can fight too.”
What about the parents who aren’t attorneys? What about the kids who see their friends and classmates getting in trouble for things they see others not getting in trouble for? What about the kids who open their lunch box, see a butter knife with their food, and worry that a teacher having a bad day will drag him to the principle’s office for “possessing a dangerous weapon”?
When will zero tolerance be replaced with common sense?
That’s angering. It sounds like they’ve got a pretty serious case. One size fits all doesn’t work.
Starting in middle school, I used to carry around a bottle of Advil in my backpack. You could hear the pills rattling everywhere I went. As a sufferer of frequent headaches, I thought it more practical to be able to self-medicate as needed. I remember encountering resistance from the school nurse when asking for cough drops. First she had to check my record to see if my parents had given me permission to take that specific “drug.” When my record did not specifically indicate that cough drops were ok, the nurse had to call my mom at work. Only then, was the nurse willing to give me ONE SINGLE cough drop. So I decided to not bother when it came to the Advil. My options were: responsible self-medication, or go home sick every few days because my headache had grown unbearable. I chose to spend more time in school.