Zero Tolerance Or Restorative Justice - 1860 Words

Zero Tolerance or Restorative Justice? When I think back to when I attended grade school, I remember suspensions were common. You could say I was a good kid, because I never got suspended, but that was not so for the class clowns, trouble makers, ditchers of the school. One of the reasons for the increase in suspension rates had to do with zero tolerance policies. Did zero tolerance help shape these children to be better students, or did it simply aid in pushing them out of school? In the news right now there is great controversy surrounding a new approach to help at risk children it is called restorative justice. Does it help, or is it just another way for students not to held accountable for their actions. There are pros and cons I am sure for both but in the end what method helps keep students in school, and learning? Is it Zero Tolerance with its strict guidelines or Restorative Justice where offender is made to feel accountable for his action that aid with at risk kids. Zero Tolerance Policies grew momentum after the Columbine school shooting in 1999. The Columbine school shooting was when two students went on a shooting rampage, injuring 24, and killing 13 students and school faculty including themselves at their school. Before the Columbine incident, In 1994, federal legislation passed a law that required any school to expel students who carried or were found in possession of a gun while on school grounds or they would lose federal funding. Zero tolerance policy inShow MoreRelatedEveryday Students Of Color Are Denied Their Right To A1640 Words   |  7 Pageslearning environment. There is no argument against this, however the methods utilized to provide a safe climate defy this common sense. More specifically, zero tolerance policies, which require students to be punished consistently and severely in a punitive nature. Zero tolerance policies arose in school systems during the 1990s when the justice system was â€Å"getting tough† on crime as a tactic to control drug abuse. According the Public Agenda removing students from school is supposed to create a betterRead MoreThe Negative Consequences of Discipline1836 Words   |  7 Pagesof schools is to keep its students and teachers safe from harm and violence. Over the years, this has meant applying zero tolerance policies, which have encouraged and led to overcriminalization and the over-intervention of the juvenile justice system. This correlation between zero tolerance measures and the justice system has been termed â€Å"school-to-prison-pipeline†. Zero tolerance has, for the most part, worked; but do we like how it has worked? Although this policy has some benefits, its biggestRead MoreThe Education System Has Long Rested On Zero Tolerance Policies3101 Words   |  13 Pagesprison system, the public school justice system has long rested on zero tolerance policies (Zehr, 2015). These zero tolerance policies rest on the ideology that by providing swift and harsh punishment to the offender, future violations of social and educational institution rules will be deterred (Vaandering, 2010). And while this methodology may work, it also furthers the reality of a â€Å"school-to-prison† pipeline in modern culture. Rather than rely on zero tolerance measures as a whole sale approachRead MoreRacial Disparities Of Black Students1542 Words   |  7 Pagesdiscipline such as involving the police. It was from this data that Welsh and Payne (2010) argued that schools were a contribution to the criminalization of minority youth and reinforced the negative stereotypes of blacks. Many scholars argue that the Zero-Tolerance policies implemented in schools are discriminatory practices that target disadvantaged, minority youth (Wald and Losen, 2003; Welsh and Payne, 2010; Skiba et al. 2000). As exclusionary discipline has been consistently linked to race, the widespreadRead MoreThe School Of Prison Pipeline Presents The Intersection Of A K 12 Ed ucational System And A Juvenile System2965 Words   |  12 Pagesstudents to boost overall test scores (Cramer, Gonzales, Lafont-Pellegrini 2014). Lacking resources, facing incentives to push out low-performing students, and responding to a handful of highly-publicized school shootings, schools have embraced zero-tolerance policies that automatically impose severe punishment regardless of circumstances. Under these policies, students have been expelled for bringing nail clippers or scissors to school (Christle, Jolivette, Nelson 2005). Rates of suspension haveRead MoreRestorative Justice Policy Proposal for Juvenile Justice System2875 Words   |  12 Pagesofficers, judges, prosecutors as well as other juvenile professionals are advocating for a juvenile justice system which is greatly based on restorative justice. These groups of people have been frustrated by the policy uncertainty between retribution and treatment as well as unrealistic and unclear public expectations. As a primary mission, the balanced approach or policy allows juvenile justice systems together with its agencies to improve in their capacity of protecting the community and ensuringRead MoreRestorative Justice : The Juvenile Justice Perspective Essay2200 Words   |  9 PagesRestorative Justice: The Juvenile Justice Perspective Introduction The United Nations has said that human rights and juvenile justice should not counteract one another, and restorative justice is the best way to deal with children who behave outside of the law in a way that respects their rights as well as promotes societal justice (Odala, 2012). Restorative justice (RJ) involves many different concepts, but the primary goal is to restore the harm caused by the crime. RJ participants are not limitedRead MoreZero Tolerance Unfairly Targets Minority Middle School Students1243 Words   |  5 PagesProblem Statement The problem for which resolution would be sought is that zero tolerance unfairly targets minority middle school students. Because of this policy, minority students have shown the tendency to be academically unsuccessful and are more prone to engage in misbehaviors that could lead to suspension or expulsion from school. It is for the sake of all of the children in American school districts that administrators, educators, and parents work together in order to determine the exact causeRead MoreZero Tolerance Policies in American Schools Essay874 Words   |  4 PagesIn all grades of education, from kindergarten to college, there is a form of discipline known as a zero tolerance policy. While the exact wording is different from school to school, basically a zero tolerance policy means that a student is immediately suspended, asked to attend an alternative school, or expelled if they are suspected or caught doing certain things. These policies are in place to hopefully deter students fro m doing drugs or being violent, but the ethics behind them are questionableRead MoreBlood Transfusion Should Not Be Banned From A Lighter Sentence952 Words   |  4 PagesCaroline outlined Restorative Justice as a way to solve the problem of the school-to-prison pipeline. While I do agree that this should be more widely used in schools, I think the scope of this problem should be aimed at the policy of zero-tolerance. Yes, these policies are in place to deter students from endangering themselves and others, but zero-tolerance is detrimental to the social, mental and economic wellbeing of the students and communities as a whole. Socially, zero-tolerance policies have