Effectiveness of Zero Tolerance Policies and Suggestions for Improvement to Reduce School Violence

Introduction

From a global perspective, the end of the 20th century can be remembered as a time of relative peace, prosperity, and advancement, but especially so for Americans. December of ‘91 saw the end of the cold war and the dissolution of the Soviet Union. The rising utility and accessibility of a novel mode of communication known as the internet took the U.S. by storm, allowing for the creation and distribution of information at capacities and speeds never seen before in history. In the summer of ’92, NASA launched the space shuttle Endeavour, which carried with it a communication satellite, the first woman in space, Mae Jemison, and saw the execution of an unprecedented three-person spacewalk (Ryba, 2013). However, this ingenuity and innovative spirit did not seem to spread to the sector of public safety and law enforcement. The War on Drugs reached a fever pitch and resulted in a spike in mass incarceration (Rodríguez-Gómez & Bermeo, 2020), while news media, academics, and politicians heightened public awareness and fear of a new type of juvenile criminal, which they labeled as a superpredator. In schools, student safety became of great concern as a perceived increase in violence on school grounds left students and teachers worried for their safety. This great worry for an increasingly problematic, unsafe society and the decline of a safe school environment facilitated the acceptance and implementation of zero tolerance policies, which still stand at the forefront of safety measures in U.S. schools today.

It is unarguable that the safety of students and their well-being are imperative, for one cannot learn in an unsafe environment or while under duress, and quite frankly, safety is of utmost importance across the board. Unsurprisingly, when the safety of students is questioned, as it was in the early 90s, it is expected of various stakeholders to act to ensure the immediate resolution of the issue and the prevention of future such occurrences. Such were the goals and aspirations of various zero tolerance policies, which were introduced in the late 80s to early 90s when schools appeared overwhelmed by violence (Skiba, 2014). Zero tolerance is a phrase coined with various interpretations and implementations; however, this punitive paradigm is categorized by its main core presumption: that strong, swift, immediate punishment and removal of disruptive students can act as a deterrent to other disruptive students (Skiba, 2014; APA, 2008). This line of reasoning is rooted in the teachings of the broken window theory, which strongly emphasizes the maintenance of the status quo so that the smallest disruption is aggressively rectified to prevent further social disorganization (Skiba, 2014). Ultimately, the punishments served as means of deterrence, in theory, as one would see the punishment and aim to behave in manners that avoid the same outcomes. Thus, the overall safety of the school would be enhanced as a result.

Zero tolerance school policies, which have their origin in anti-drug laws, were codified into law in various capacities, most notably with the passing of the Gun Free School Act of 1994, which mandated a one-year expulsion for possession of a firearm on school grounds (Dupper, 2010; Skiba, 2014). This act also tied federal funding to the enforcement of the law, thereby incentivizing the vast majority of U.S. public schools to implement and enforce the law (Dupper, 2010). As more laws affecting the schools were enacted, more policing and punitive punishments were also enacted. Again, schools began to implement various methods of fixing the violence in school issue that relied on a philosophy, which resulted in the aggressive punishment of the smallest infractions and disproportionately impacted the student population (APA 2008; Heilbrun et al., 2013; Skiba, 2014). These results, then, could overshadow the basis of public school education: provide youth with an opportunity to learn knowledge and skills that will set them up for success in adulthood.