News Articles
Week of March 5, 2010
A new sheriff in school, The Gilroy Dispatch
A profile of a principal in Gilroy, CA who is taking a “throw out the bad apples” approach to school discipline.
Congress debates limits on student discipline, ABC News
House Votes to Protect Pupils Against Abusive Discipline, The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/04/health/04restraint.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
The House has just passed Congressman Miller’s bill to limit the use of seclusion and restraint in school discipline – a small but important step in the right direction.
Restorative Justice stops fights, keeps kids in school, 9NEWS.com
A very good piece from NBC-9 in Denver reporting on the work of Padres y Jovenes Unidos to reform school discipline and implement restorative justice. As the piece notes, restorative justice is working, but it’s not fully implemented and much remains to be done.
Bolivar School District Considering Random Drug Testing Students, KSPR
A school in the Ozarks is talking about starting random drug testing for band students.
Zero Tolerance bill moves to Senate rules committee, Gold Dome Live
Georgia’s zero tolerance policy… a pipeline to prison, WTVM.com
More reporting on the bill in Georgia that is moving to the Senate Rules Committee.
Resource officer providing a strong presence on campus, WestsideConnect
A profile of Gustine, CA’s SRO who proudly states that if parents can’t get their students to come to school, he’ll come to their home and bring them in.
Church groups focus on problems facing black males, The State
Churches Unveil Plan to Ease Plight of Black Men, Christianpost.com
Everyday, more people and groups join the fight against the schoolhouse-to-jailhouse track.
NYC Schools Introduce Violence-Prevention Hotline, WNYC News Blog
NYC is rolling out a “school violence” hotline so that students can report if other students tell them about an attack beforehand.
Zero-Tolerance Drug Policy: Seventh Grader Suspended For Touching Adderall Pill, The Huffington Post
The Huffington Post picks up the story of a 7th grader who was suspended for saying no to drugs (with video).
Standing Up For Students Who Get In Trouble, Connecticut Law Tribune
A profile of CT Legal Services lawyers who defend youth who fall victim to zero tolerance policies.
Problem children should be helped, not excluded, says schools report, The Observer
A report out of the U.K. concurs with research on this side of the Atlantic showing that excluding students from school does not help – and just targets the most vulnerable students.
Seclusion, restraint in schools unregulated in many states, USATODAY.com
USA Today picks up the report on states’ failure to regulate seclusion and restraint.
Deer Creek’s resource officer was called away to different school at time of shootings, The Denver Post
In Jefferson County, CO, the site of a recent school shooting, the SRO assigned to the school was at another school – this is the kind of story that leads to knee-jerk reactions that pour money into police in schools all over the country without really affecting safety and with detrimental effects for the students in those schools.
Opinions/Editorials
Women trapped in the American gulag, SocialistWorker.org
Review of a book that examines experiences of incarcerated American women, including the school to prison pipeline.
School suspensions, Winston-Salem Journal
The Winston-Salem Journal writes an editorial in support of the plaintiffs in the upcoming North Carolina Supreme Court case involving students suspended without educational services (Advancement Project was part of a coalition of groups that filed an Amicus Brief in favor of the plaintiffs).
School board must take strong action against disruptive students, St. Petersburg Times
A misguided editorial from Pinellas County, Florida bemoaning the “chaos” in schools there and calling on the administration and law enforcement to “attack” the problem. The paper uses the same “get rid of the bad apples” logic that is so destructive and misinformed. The way to make schools safe is not to make students fear punishment, it is to make schools decent places to spend 8 hours a day.
‘The Empathetic Civilization’: Boys Are The Key To An Empathetic Future, The Huffington Post
An interesting entry at the Huffington Post on how important empathy is and how zero tolerance policies are harmful.
Zero tolerance bill takes a step forward. Sanity returns, Get Schooled
A proposed bill in Georgia has passed unanimously out of committee. The bill would ease zero-tolerance in the state and require a hearing before taking youth into custody.
Juvenile Delinquents, The Cavalier Daily
The University of Virginia’s daily paper publishes a column criticizing the use of zero-tolerance and highlighting the work of Judge Teske in Georgia.
Handcuffed for graffiti: School discipline overdone, NJ.com
Another column (this time from NJ) criticizing the NYC schools for arresting a 12-year old student for doodling on her desk.
Spare the corner, spoil the child?, Chicago Tribune
A column in the Chicago Tribune reminisces about the good old days of strict discipline and ritual humiliation.
The Radicalization of Crime and Punishment, truthout
An interview with Nancy Heitzeg, professor of sociology at St. Catherine University, examines injustices in the criminal justice system, including the school to prison pipeline.
OPINION SHAPER: In this family, old-school discipline worked, Suburban Journals
Yet another misguided op-ed that advocates beating your kids, but frames it as “old-school discipline.” Whipping your children should not be a last resort; it only seems necessary because the parent has already failed at actual parenting.
Arrested for Doodling on a Desk? “Zero Tolerance” at Schools Is Going Way Too Far, AlterNet
A very good story on “Alternet” about zero-tolerance and overly harsh punishment in schools. The story covers the recent Web-cam spying incident in Pennsylvania, the arrest of the student in NYC for doodling on her desk, and the punishment of a student in Montgomery County, MD for refusing to say the Pledge of Allegiance. The story quotes organizers from Labor Community Strategy Center in L.A.
INGA BARKS: It’s a disservice to kick out students, teachers hastily, Bakersfield.com
A columnist in Bakersfield, CA draws the connection between “getting tough” on teachers and “getting tough” on students.
School Suspensions, The Stampede
A student-run paper in King City, CA interviews students and administrators about their opinions on whether suspensions work.
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