Sentencing Project

An editorial states: “People send their children to schools to learn, not to be subject to rough societal punishments. When a person trusts a school with the well being of his or her child, it is understood that educators and administrators in middle and high schools will act in the best interest of the student. Zero-tolerance policies are counterintuitive to the development of a functioning member of society, and they should be eradicated before more young people are prematurely introduced to the incarceration system.

“Any zero-tolerance policy against non-violent crime breeds criminals. When a student is in possession of an illegal substance or spray paints a wall on a campus, administrators should take the responsibility to discipline. Guidance counselors and school security should be held more accountable for discovering and assessing a child’s actions and administering constructive discipline rather than punishing the student to the fullest extent.

“Disruptive students should not be contained to jail cells, juvenile detention or simple detention in a cafeteria. If a social problem warrants possible incarceration, parents and school officials should be more than capable of avoiding such harsh consequences. How is society going to advance if young people are left to fend for their rights in a courtroom?

“Expulsions and suspensions delegate the responsibility of disciplining a student to the parents, which is fine in most cases. But if a parent is incompetent or unable to address unruly social issues — as is often the case when students have certain social problems — then the student is left to his or her own devices to continue the bad behavior.

“Currently, more than 70,000 people under the age of 18 years old are in juvenile detention, according to The Sentencing Project, an organization geared toward fighting to lower the sheer number of young people behind bars. Schools think they can effectively educate willing, behaved students if the ne’er-do-wells are removed from classrooms, but removing these more difficult students damages their futures.”