I was reading this article which goes in to what a lawsuit happy country we have become, and I remembered another driving factor behind the crazy Zero Tolerance policies.
Now don’t get me wrong, I think Zero Tolerance is crazy. I think that parents need to stand up and fight it the minute it is announced for their school. I think we need to pay attention, and if you ignore the rules your children have to follow, you may be quite shocked one day when your kid is suspended over carrying Advil.
However, we as a society have driven the school districts to that point. My son goes to a private school. Last year, the principal gave two different punishments to two kids for the same violation of the rules. All things considered, maybe the one kid had never been in trouble, so he deserved a lighter punishment. Whatever the case may be, there were actually threats of a lawsuit over it.
Yes, parents consider a lawsuit because their kid wasn’t punished fairly in their opinion. Crazy, but true.
It’s all wrong in my opinion. But if a rule is spelled out stating carrying *any* drugs at school will subject you to a 1 year suspension, and you don’t fight that rule (through the proper channels and tons of red tape), then it could happen to your child too.
It is sad to see what people think they should file lawsuits over. We turn down cases all the time because there is no way they will ever win – they are simply ludicrious, frivilious lawsuits. However, I’m afraid that as long as they continue we will end up with insane Zero Tolerance policies in our school.
4 replies on “Another Driving Force behind Zero Tolerance Rules…”
Solid follow-up post.
it’s scary and crazy what this world has turned into. it’s sad to know that people are so jaded as to read evil intentions into something as simple as a comforting hug.
When I was in high school I carried Bayer and Midol in my purse. Guess I was a criminal and should have been expelled.
How does one go about fighting the zero tolerance rule through proper channels and isn’t it advisable to seek legal counsel in doing so?