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A Senior Seminar Editorial by Colman Flanagan, MHS 2010
The overreaction of school administrations to cases of poor behavior by students has quickly become one of the biggest problems in society today. The reasons for some expulsions being handed out have left parents, as well as the students both baffled. The requirement by congress put in place in 1994 that forced states receiving federal education money to expel students who bring guns onto school property has quickly been blown way out of proportion. The zero tolerance policy can have a domino effect on a young student who gets in trouble and gets expelled from school. Many of these students will decide to just bag the whole school idea, and are much more suspect to more trouble down the road once they get involved in the juvenile justice system. This system is also subject to racism. The stats show that blacks and Hispanics are being shipped off to court at a higher rate then white students are.
Some juvenile court systems have met with school districts to discuss possible reforms to this utterly flawed system. A popular choice among the committee was a three strike system, as opposed to the one and done zero tolerance policy that is being exhibited currently. “Under this system, the student receives a warning after the first offense. After the second offense, students and parents are required to attend a mediation session or a school conflict workshop. The third offense leads to a court complaint”, according to the article. One of the main dangers that scare’s these officials is the thought of the demoralizing effect a criminal offense could do to a young students future, and they’ve seen in the past how often this leads to future violence. With the three strike system in effect, the number of children referred to juvenile court was cut by fifty percent.
By focusing less on the minor issues and more on the major issues, courts are able to devote more time to solving the problems with the severely troubled children. The three strikes helped to drop the felony rate dramatically as a result. Students in high school are going to get into fights and use profanity while talking to adults. Situations like these are evanescent at almost every school in America, but the school administrations need to focus more highly on getting help with the students who commit felony’s, and they are a serious threat to the well being of other’s in society. Also, in the heat of the moment, many students may say or do things they really do not intend to do. Does this mean that they are a bad person? No. The three strike system eliminates the unjustified court referrals by allowing the students a seconds chance to get their acts together. Schools all over the country need to pay close attention to the school districts that have adapted the three strike systems. With all the positives from this new system, it should only be a matter of time before they do.