Pros and Cons of Zero Tolerance

Sneaking stuff into school has been a teenage rite of passage since James Dean ruled the silver screen. But in recent years parents have expressed fear that more than cigarettes are flowing into schools--that the tools of deadly crime and culture are making their way into the educational experience.

Educators have responded by drawing up tighter rules--often under the heading of “zero tolerance”--that sometimes leave little room for innocent transgression. Witness the arrest last month of a South Carolina sixth-grader who took a knife--neatly packed for use with her lunch--to school (she was recently cleared after receiving national attention). Or recall the recent spate of suspensions for students who brought common pain relievers to the classroom. Use a pager? Get suspended.

“These events reflect the zero tolerance movement,” says Joan First, executive director of the National Coalition of Advocates for Students. “It tends to be a very rigid approach to dealing with students. It’s better to use common sense than rigid rules.”

“This is a national angst that has seeped into schools in ways that are absurd,” says Roger Weaver, headmaster of the innovative Crossroads private school in Santa Monica. “But the reflex comes from a very real problem.”

Students indeed bring things to school that reflect the darker side of the popular imagination. From the annals of the Los Angeles Unified School District police come these finds:

* Weapons (ice picks, chains, throwing stars, shotguns, pokers and one hand grenade).

* Pets (snakes, lizards, spiders, mice, iguanas).

* Drugs (crack, marijuana and an assortment of narcotic pills).

During the traditional school year that ended last spring, 416 students at L.A. Unified campuses were suspected of bringing weapons to school; 867 were suspected of being in possession of drugs. Although the district has changed its reporting system, the numbers appear to be down when compared with figures from the previous school year. And school police officers on the front lines are reporting finding less contraband in the pockets of students.

“At this school, things are getting better,” says Art Darden, school police officer at Belmont High School west of downtown. “The students don’t know when and where they’re going to be searched.”

The district conducts random metal detector searches in secondary schools. In addition, student informants can turn in classmates they suspect of carrying drugs or weapons.

School district spokesman Pat Spencer says students cannot bring anything that could be used as a weapon to school, in addition to any clothing, accessory or paraphernalia that could be identified with a gang, pagers, and any medication, including aspirin (which must be checked in with the school nurse for administration). Any other questionable accouterments are up for consideration by the individual school.

“Anything that would create a significant disturbance to classes or the operation of the school,” Spencer says, “is not allowed.”

*

Of course, what police find often varies depending on what school they’re dealing with. At Belmont High, home is a neighborhood struggling with bustling drug sales. School police still come across chain-and-bolt weapons and crack-filled pockets. Here, where students can’t wear New York Yankees apparel because it might reflect gang affiliation, innocent transgression is rare. But officer Darden promises, “If we catch someone who brings in a knife for lunch, we’ll keep it and have the parents pick it up after school rather than suspend.

“We use common sense,” says the 16-year veteran of school enforcement.

At Palisades High School in Pacific Palisades, the fare is a tad lighter, with knives being the confiscated weapon of choice. Cellular phones are becoming more popular in the confiscation room, too (they’re prohibited along with pagers).

“I had a kid last year who stole a baton from the track team and used it to make a bong,” says school officer James Vils. “He was suspended for having drug paraphernalia.”

Parents might be asking for more protection, but some in the education community say students should have more say in the rules that rule their on-campus lives.

“In any institution where the schools can create participatory responsibility, the kids feel they have a real sense of value,” argues Crossroads’ Weaver.

Not all students, however, object to the hyper watchfulness. “I like being protected,” says Carlos Toyoda, a 15-year-old junior at Thomas Jefferson High School in South-Central L.A. “Where I go to school, you never know what students will bring to campus.”