Discipline in schools across America, and even in other countries as well, is a controversial topic. What exactly constitutes as necessary disciplinary action? Well, in order to combat this issue, schools across the United States, and Canada as well, have adopted Zero Tolerance policies. Essentially, any offenses that fall under these categories have a static and overarching punishment. For example, if a weapon is found on a student’s person, then in every instance of this offense the student would receive the same punishment: suspension, or even expulsion.
In theory, these types of policies seem just, if not perfect. No matter the student, the punishment remains the same. These policies seem to leave no room for unfair and biased punishment, right? Wrong. In fact, almost always, this policy unfairly targets minority bodies. According to Michigan State University, black girls are disproportionately affected by zero tolerance policies. In the United States, a whopping twelve percent more female black students are suspended than across any gender or ethnicity. The study goes on to point out that one of the only demographics that has suspension rates higher -and that’s the demographic of black male students.
When dealing with zero tolerance policies, the school-to-prison pipeline refers to the “growing pattern of tracking students out of educational institutions, primarily via ‘zero tolerance’ policies, and tracking them directly and/or indirectly into the juvenile and adult criminal justice systems.” Here it is evident that the black body is being demonized by policies that are inherently flawed. In fact, according to a paper published by St. Catherine University, the poor minority children are the ones targeted by such policies. Children of color are at an extremely high risk of being expelled, kicked out of the school, and forced onto the streets or even adult prisons and jails. The corrupt and ridiculous nature of zero tolerance policies is exposed in the cases of the expulsion of a 10-year-old girl and another teenage student. In the case of the young girl, her mother had placed a small knife in the girl’s lunch bag that was to be used for cutting apples; however, the knife was found, and without any consideration of the circumstance, the girl was expelled. Another case cited by the American Psychologist is a case involving the expulsion of a teenage student. The student was the son of a soldier fighting in Iraq and hadn’t even spoken to his mother in about a month. Thus, when he was seen talking to his mother on his cell phone at school, violating school rules, the teenager was promptly expelled. Zero tolerance policies are merely an excuse to extinguish minority voices in schools; St. Catherine University stresses this appalling fact and reports that even minor offenses are demonized and called crimes, and cases exist in which students were actually arrested at school.
While provinces like Ontario have long recognized the error of zero tolerance policies, it is still widely used in the United States, despite the fact state officials aren’t in favor of such policies. The United States must take a clear and bold stance in the war on education seen in too many of America’s public schools today.
The combined effect of zero tolerance policies is the increased rate of students and children of color being forced into prisons and correctional institutions where they can not learn. Because of the lack opportunity seen with the implementation of zero tolerance policies, more and more minority children are being denied basic access to education. To these children, school is no longer a safe space, but rather an environment existing under a microscope, in which these students could be placed behind bars at any given moment.
America must do better. These are children, fearing for their livelihood because of flawed policies. No one cares enough about another black child placed behind bars to do anything to help -a brutal societal truth that must change. Children are not criminals, they are simply seeking an education and we have every obligation to give it to them. Until the United States can refuse to keep feeding the school-to-prison pipeline, the American Dream is truly dead.
