Zero Tolerance Policies and Alternative Education: Where Do We Go from Here?

The recent rise in school violence and prevalence of weapons in the hands of students in the past twenty years has led to implementing new disciplinary policies in schools? most notably, ?zero tolerance policies.? While these seemingly ?get tough on crime? policies remain popular, criticism and skepticism as to their effectiveness and appropriateness increase daily. The implementation of these policies nationwide has resulted in dramatic increases in school exclusions (suspensions and expulsions). Not only are exclusions more prevalent, but research suggests that a disproportionate number of African American and other minority students are being excluded from schools across the country. An additional concern regarding the consequences of zero tolerance policies is what happens to the students who are expelled and suspended from school ? where do they go? This paper will discuss the development of zero tolerance policies, as well as the most common criticisms and effects of these rigid disciplinary codes and their implementation. In addition, this paper will focus on the effects of alternative schooling. A recent concern in the literature is that many of the students who are excluded are never referred to an alternative program at all. In this paper we will examine this student-school gap and the role that race plays in the equation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]