INDIANA

Changing the way we punish

A new IU study shows the built-in troubles of zero tolerance

A new collaborative study by IU's Center for Evaluation and Education Policy and the Indiana Youth Services Association, entitled “Children Left Behind,” should serve as an eye-opener for the state and the nation when it comes to our public grade schools.

The study found an alarming number of concerns, including an inherent discrepancy between keeping public schools safe and disturbance-free through disciplinary actions while making the best effort to educate all students.

“Despite claims that zero tolerance sends an important deterrent message to students, there is no credible evidence that either out-of-school suspension or expulsion are effective methods of changing student behavior,” the study said.

We wonder what good comes from removing troubled students from a supervised school environment and moving them into an unsupervised community? It temporarily lifts the burden from those schools, but merely redistributes the problem back into society. And removing students — either in the short-term through suspensions or in the long-term through expulsions — is now a frequent practice. Indiana leads the nation in school expulsion rates and ranks ninth among states in out-of-school suspensions. The study found that at the national level, higher rates of suspensions are associated with poorer school environments, higher dropout rates and higher numbers in the criminal justice system.

On a state level, there is a startling disparity in distribution. The top 10 percent of schools account for over half of Indiana suspensions in terms of suspension rates. Additionally, although the vast majority of Indiana high school students are white, black students and Hispanic students have higher out-of-school suspension and expulsion rates. We believe schools must have the right and the rein to prevent disruption, not only for a climate conducive to education, but also to ensure student safety. Fortunately the study's conclusions and suggestions, which we fully support, are pragmatic and do not trample on the schools' abilities to do so.

The study suggests reserving zero tolerance for the most egregious behaviors; replacing “one-size-fits-all” disciplinary blankets with graduated levels of discipline; improving data collection strategies on expulsions and suspensions; encouraging a collaboration between the school, the parents and the community; and expanding the options available to a wide range of alternatives and strategies for dealing with disruptive behavior. As the study is not remiss to point out, such innovations and initiatives will not be free. We believe strongly that education must be among the primary investments for Indiana.

We cannot let the dots go unconnected. The status of our public school system, which a majority of our state's youths attend, will directly influence the status of our society. While it may not be instantaneous, it will be noticed over time. Indiana must put forward its best effort to punish those that need punished, to retain those that can be retained and to produce the best educational environment for our state.

The IDS Editorial Board voted 10-0 on this issue, with one abstention.

19 July 2004
http://www.idsnews.com/story.php?id=23892

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