Zero-tolerance policies are more detrimental than beneficial to school environments because they are applied without proper consideration and judgment toward alleged transgressions. These policies have also been shown to be discriminatory as they are often applied more frequently to minority and disadvantaged students.
Schools in the United States are facing an overwhelming wave of violence related to drugs, guns, and general bullying. The educational system is responding with zero-tolerance policies, which require strict penalties for students who commit violent or anti-social acts. Such policies are necessary given the rise in school violence. At the same time, zero-tolerance policies need to give school administrators and school boards more
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Most recently, in December of 2008, the American Psychological Association Zero Tolerance Task Force released a report concluding that zero-tolerance policies may negatively affect the relationship between education and juvenile justice, and are not in harmony with current knowledge concerning adolescent development. The report recommended, in some circumstances, reforming zero-tolerance policies, and in others, replacing zero-tolerance policies with other approaches.
The point of zero tolerance is basically a pre law or something to force fear. Despite the conclusions of these and other studies, some schools report positive results from the use of zero-tolerance policies. supporters argue that zero-tolerance policies have made schools safer, while critics charge that this “one size fits all” approach fails to take local conditions into account. This lack of flexibility sometimes means that administrators are required to punish relatively minor