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Zero Tolerance Theory

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The zero tolerance policies can be best described as, “a philosophy or policy that mandates the application of predetermined consequences, most often severe in nature, that are intended to be applied regardless of the seriousness of behavior, mitigating circumstances or situational context (Graham et al 2008 np)”. There was a rise of the zero tolerance policies that started with the scare of the war on drugs during the 1980s. There was this fear of copious amounts of drugs coming into the schools along with the perceived rise of gang violence occurring in schools. This happened alongside the boom in weapons coming to US, this prompted the federal government to act. Schools in some states started to adopt the language of zero tolerance, which …show more content…

This theory manifested its way into the zero-tolerance punishment. They targeted both not so serious and serious offenses, this was a way to basically warn the children that things will not be tolerated. The School Free Gun Act was predicting for many more policies to come. It was supported by the population because of its promise to improve school safety for all students. This piece of legislation at the same time as anti-black rhetoric came to be. In 1995 John Dilulio, a criminologist and political scientist, described the “superpreditor” as, “kids who have absolutely no respect for human life and no sense of the future”, he continues saying that this is the center of the “black inner-city neighborhoods” and that this will inevitably spill to the “upscale central city districts… suburbs and… the rural heartland (Drum 2018, np)”. He continues with saying, “they kill or maim on impulse, without any intelligible motives…the buzz of impulsive violence, the vacant stares and smiles, and the remorseless eyes”, spewing this rhetoric that continues to dehumanize the black body. The racialization of the supercriminal, continued disenfranchisement of black students and other students of color. This only aided the rhetoric of zero tolerance policies in schools, in order to get the “superpreditor” out of schools. another event that aided the …show more content…

Many have researched to see if zero tolerance policies actually work. When looking at these policies we have to recognize the tough decisions made by teachers and school administers when it comes to school violence, but it is important to recognize the gaps that exist within these policies that negatively affect students and their communities. It is true that these policies aim to protect against intra-school violence, but the truth is that these policies often work in major punishment for trivial offences (Skiba and Knesting 2001). The implementation of these policies has become civil rights issues for both sides of the political spectrum, organizations like the ACLU and the Rutherford Institute have both criticized the policies and have defended students who are being negatively affected by this era of discipline. Still, defenders of the policy believe this will still be the one cure all for the growing trend in violence across America. Even though it is a common belief about zero tolerance, it has been around for a couple of decades now and the evidence does not support the common belief. With the question of: do zero tolerance policies make schools safer? The answer is not necessarily. There is this common misconception that booting “problem” students benefit the school. But it has been tested that with the increase of zero tolerance discipline such as suspension and expulsion does

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