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No Tolerance for Zero Tolerance:
A Prevention and Intervention-based Curriculum Solution

Jenna Fograscher, Troy Fleischman, Ben Hughes, Robbi Kleinholz

EDL 318, Fall Semester 2014, Miami University

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Abstract
Zero-tolerance policies adhere to strict parameters with predetermined
punishments. They contribute to the School-to-Prison Pipeline, in which offenders
become disconnected from school. We propose phasing out these policies and
implementing policies that encourage community engagement and prevent violence.
Strong communities inspire students to connect education to their lives.

Keywords: prevention; intervention; individual students; community engagement;
safety
Rationale
We live in a society where the majority of our schools push students through
what is known as the School-to-Prison Pipeline. That is, those students who are
consistently suspended from school are more likely to serve time in prison. The
more time students spend out of the classroom, the harder it is for them to complete
their education and the easier it is to fall into dangerous lifestyles that can
eventually lead to incarceration (Advancement Project, 2007). According to the U.S.
Department of Education, approximately 75% of schools have zero tolerance
policies (NASP, 2014). Zero tolerance polices serve as the slippery slope for
students who get in trouble at school. The most common issues within zero
tolerance policies are those concerning weapons, alcohol, drugs, violence, and
tobacco (NASP, 2014). Zero tolerance policies state that any violation of the rules is
grounds for a uniform punitive consequence, regardless of the severity or context.
The issue with zero tolerance policies is that students who commit minor
violations of the policy are charged with the same consequences as a serious
violation, which often results in a suspension or another form of punishment that
keeps the student from being in the classroom. This issue is especially relevant to
multicultural education in the U.S. According to The Advancement project, the
national rate of suspension showed that for every 100 students in school, 15 African
American students, 7.9 American Indian students, 6.8 Latino students, and 4.8 white
students were given out-of-school suspensions (2007). This shows a marked
inequality in the amount of education minority students are receiving. Our vision is
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to eliminate zero tolerance policies and replace them with those that keep students
engaged in a safe learning environment.
Our ideal school would operate with two main principals in mind. Our first
and top priority is ensuring the safety of all students and individuals in the school.
Safety is vital to the learning process in that for a student to be actively engaged in
their education, they have to feel safe. Students at school who are primarily
concerned with their safety rather than their education are not actively engaged in
their education. Our second priority is to actually educate our students, which
requires them to be in the classroom. Students who are suspended due to irrational
zero tolerance policies are not in the classroom and therefore, are not being
educated. While we acknowledge students who threaten the safety of others should
not have access to the school building, we affirm that those who are suspended
under zero tolerance policies, but do not pose a threat, should not be suspended.
Our theory addressing the issues tied with zero tolerance policies is that
keeping students in the classroom will reduce the prevalence of severe cases of
misconduct. If students are appropriately held accountable for their actions in the
minor cases, they will be less likely to act out again and/or increase the severity of
their actions. Keeping kids in the classroom can be achieved numerous different
ways. However, our curriculum utilizes prevention and intervention strategies.
Getting parents involved at the beginning of the school year is a significant piece of
our curriculum. Starting the school year by communicating the expectations and the
school has for each other is essential to preventing undesired misconduct both at
school and in the household. Communication is key to making sure that all parties
are on the same page in regards to the students behavior in school. When cases of
misconduct do arise, the parent would be involved in the consequences as well.
Acting out against school policy is occurs less frequently when mediation comes
from both the parents and the school.
We want our students to get involved in the community and have a sense of
connection with it. Our curriculum prioritizes prevention and intervention through
practices that engrain the students within their community and establishes an
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impression of belonging. Community engagement is our chosen alternative to
ineffective and irrational zero tolerance policies.

Description
As previously stated, our two priorities are that students are safe and remain
in the classroom. In order to fulfill these priorities, our main curriculum for school
wide discipline is a prevention and intervention based policy. In their 2010 journal
Osher, Bear, Sprague, and Doyle define two universal approaches that have
predominated the past decade, Schoolwide positive behavioral supports (SWPBS)
and Social emotional learning (SEL). SWPBSs are systems that define rules explicitly,
rewarding positive behavior and integrating support for students who display
negative behavior patterns. SEL focuses on helping students to develop their own
self-management, social awareness, and responsible decision making skills. We
describe our curriculum as a combination of these two strategies, with a focus on
the individual student and school. We recognize that every school consists of a
unique makeup of students and faculty and believe that the curriculum should be
designed by those within the community and tailored to meet individual needs.
Since our approach depends on the prevention of violence, we plan for
several specific strategies that will encourage positive behavior. One key element
that is at the center of our plan is an emphasis on community involvement that will
build a strong sense of social responsibility. We believe that encouraging students to
be an active part of their community will encourage all to work for betterment.
There will be numerous volunteer programs that meet school needs, such as lunch
duty, janitorial roles, secretarial duties, office runners, etc. This will allow students
to be more involved in the day-to-day workings of the building. We also want our
schools to be a visible and positive force within their neighborhoods. Students will
lead and participate in school-wide service projects like fundraisers, charity drives,
and park cleanups. School clubs, like theater and choir, will put on performances for
the entire community; athletics wont be the only recipient of outside support.
We also want to prepare our students to be citizens within a democracy, so
integrated into their cross-discipline academic curriculum will be projects that
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involve them in their local, state, and even federal government. Students will
research, plan, and implement community involvement ideas using skills learned in
their various classes. What this may look like is writing letters to politicians in
Language Arts, comparing the effects of social movements in Social Studies,
improving their local environment in Science, or analyzing their citys economics in
Math classes. On a smaller level, students will have a say in how their school
community is run. Every single student will be allowed and encouraged to provide
input and vote on policies. Student government will be an extracurricular activity
that will be brought to the forefront by administrators, emphasizing the importance
and luxury of participation in a democratic society.
It is important to us that the families of students within the school will also
have a stake in its well-being. Our schools will host community outreaches like
potlucks, dances, socials, and family nights to allow everybody to socialize and
connect. We will also invite families to be a part of the school and how it is run
through town-hall meetings, individual conferences, and newsletters. Parental
support is an integral part of student success, so we wish to invest parents in their
students learning as much as possible.
Another aspect of prevention is to raise awareness about responsible
decisions in students. This curriculum will span school wide as well as intra-
disciplinary. Schools will educate and counsel students about real life consequences
and make a successful future attainable in the eyes of each and every student. We
believe that it is important to teach students the why and the how of policies that
affect them, so there will be regular assemblies that address school issues, a sort of
State of the Union. Along with this modeling, students will be taught how to
evaluate the effects of their actions, instead of simply being punished with a
consequence that does not necessarily reflect their actions. This will enable students
to make stronger decisions not only in school, but also throughout their entire lives.
We want to make education relevant for all students in order to encourage
them to stay in school and work to succeed. This includes students of all ethnicities,
experiences and backgrounds. In The Importance of Multicultural Education, Geneva
Gay says, Students from different ethnic groups are more likely to be interested and
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engaged in learning situations that occur in familiar and friendly frameworks than
in those occurring in strange and hostile ones (2004). So academic curriculum in
the classrooms will be tailored to fit the needs and experiences of the students,
instead of meeting vague, national criteria. Teachers will be asked to use the
technology that the current generation of student is familiar in a way that both
educates them in a language that they understand, as well as teaches them 21
st

century skills important in their future lives. Classes will also work to raise social
awareness by having grand conversations about big picture, social questions,
while lessons will give students the tools and skills needed to answer these
questions. Community involvement will allow for conversations and seminars that
make social issues relevant for students and give them the opportunity to ask their
own questions.
Counseling will play a large role in the intervention aspect of our policy by
monitoring the well-being of individuals. Faculty and administration will work to
build relationships with all students in order to catch any potential issues. Schools
will have the freedom to build their own programs according to need; programs that
may include buddy systems that pair high performing students with low performing
ones, or one-on-one counseling sessions with those who are at-risk for, or have
already committed, disruptive behavior. If emotional or social issues are detected in
a student, parents will be alerted and involved in creating a solution. As our
curriculum depends on the prevention of violence, it is imperative that the staff is
in-tune with all that goes on in their school and community.
Implementing a prevention and intervention-based policy does not mean
that there are not any consequences laid out for infractions. Instead, our policy is
based on the idea that subjectivity is important when deciding these consequences
on a case-by-case basis. There will be rules and repercussions, but they will be
tailored to the school and the students, with the ultimate goal being keeping the
students in the classroom and learning, instead of military style, zero tolerance. As
we said, safety is our number one priority, so offenders will be removed while an
immediate threat, but quickly evaluated and returned to class as soon as deemed
non-threatening. They will be closely monitored for an appropriate amount of time;
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this may look like being checked for weapons/drugs upon entry, or receiving
regular counseling to prevent further violence.
Punishments for violence will contribute to the community involvement
aspect of our curriculum by requiring students to complete community service
outside of school hours, write apologies, complete research about their particular
misdeed, etc. The idea is that we wont punish students just for disciplines sake, but
take every opportunity to educate them about choices and responsibility. We
believe that each case is unique, as are the students involved. Schools will be staffed
with trained professionals and administration that are in-tune with the needs of the
community and concerned about its well-being.

Concept Map


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Example
The curriculum in practice focuses on keeping kids in the classroom rather
than removing them from school under the zero tolerance policy. We think
community engagement is the best alternative to zero tolerance policies. By getting
students involved with their community, they are less likely to act out because it
establishes a sense of belonging. To promote community engagement, the schools
can hold charity events to raise money for things happening in the community. For
example, if a community member or fellow student is sick, student groups could
raise money to help pay for medical bills.
If there is an accident in the community, the school should bring everyone
together to make sure they understand what happened. All too common
occurrences in modern America are school shootings and violence, as well as teen
suicide and gang violence. We believe that communication about tragedies and
offered counseling will be more beneficial to students grieving processes. Often
when tragedy occurs, schools are instructed to stay quiet and not allow teachers and
faculty to address the issue. But we think that this is unproductive and unhealthy to
not allow schools to educate students how to process their emotions, and will
contribute to further acts of violence by children who simply dont know a healthy
way to react.
Schools should support positive behavior and behavior interventions.
Students that participate in volunteer programs are less likely to act out. Students in
need could do community service such as cleaning up the community and working
with the elderly. Schools can educate students in self-awareness, real life
consequences for their actions. Educating students on the consequences of their
actions can significantly lower behavioral issues. A school that practices teaches
self-awareness and social-awareness to students would see a decrease in behavioral
issues in schools.
When the school hosts dances, potlucks, socials, meetings, conferences, and
sends out newsletters, parents can be involved with the school and their children by
volunteering and talking about progress so they know how their children are doing
rather than leaving it up to the school system to take care of them. Parental
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involvement allows for students to get the support they need in the home as the
parents are more aware of how well a child is doing in school. This also allows for
parents to voice their questions and concerns to the teachers and schools.
Educating students on awareness would take place in a classroom where
students would be counseled about real life consequences so they understand why
rules and policies apply to them and how their actions affect their future. They
would be taught how to evaluate the effects of their actions so they can make
stronger decisions throughout their entire lives. This would also significantly lower
behavioral problems because students would be able to understand how their
actions affect themselves and others.
Students who act out in the school would receive counseling to monitor their
well-being and likeliness for further misconduct. Parents would be involved so that
a solution can be found to resolve these issues and get the child back in the
classroom. Intervention is important because it helps catch and resolve potential
problems before anything bad happens. Sitting down with a counselor if a student
seems troubled lets the student talk about things in a safe place without becoming a
threat to the school. If the staff is aware of things going on in the school and
community, there is a better chance that problems can be avoided.
A tangible example of what this may look like is, if we see a child in the
classroom who begins throwing paper, books, and pencils around the room,
screaming at the class for whatever reason they may have, he would be sent to the
office and likely given a detention or suspension under current zero tolerance
policies. Instead of automatically throwing this child out of school, under this
curriculum they would be sent to counseling first. Intervention lets us assess a
students problems and assign punishment based on what happens in the
intervention. Intervention prevents future issues, and evaluates whether or not a
student is dangerous. If the student isnt found to be an immediate threat and was
just responding to something that happened earlier in the week, we can instead
assign them to volunteer work around the school or community so they not only
understand that there are consequences, but that we value the safety and education
of our students. When this student isnt found to be endangering his peers, we
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shouldnt take away their education from one outburst, but rather monitor them to
make sure everything is alright.

Assessment
In order to monitor the behavior and progress of our students and school
climates, we will implement multiple factors in order to ensure the productivity of
our system. These include continuous parental involvement, smaller groupings of
students for advisors to keep track of and conference with, and a clerical computer
software known as the Automated Discipline Data Review and Evaluation Software
System (ADDRESS).
In the initial stages of our program and during the beginning of our school
year, we want to emphasize parental involvement in and out of the classroom. Our
goal will be to meet with 100% of our parents at the beginning of the year. This
early connection will plant the seeds for strong, communicative relationships
between families and faculty. Such relationships will lead to frequent check-ups on
the progress of our students in school as well as outside of it. For students with
behavioral issues, we will continuously check in with these parents to address their
concerns as well as help them manage behavioral issues in the home. Family
involvement plays a huge role in the prevention aspect of our curriculum, but will
also provide added support when intervention becomes necessary.
Another goal of ours in assessing our students with multiple behavioral
issues is to create relationships with an advisor and administrator in the school. We
believe that it is important for all students, especially those with behavior problems,
to have at least one adult in the building who they perceive as a confidant. Our
school will be divided into houses where students are put into smaller groups and
have advisors that they are able to form closer relationships with. These advisors
will be the ones conferencing with the students who have multiple infractions and
need more intensive intervention. Because of the smaller groups assigned to the
advisor, familiarity of the cases and student situations are greater and students have
a lesser chance of being lost in the cracks and funneled down the School-to-Prison
Pipeline.
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In order to monitor the schools progress on a larger, clerical scale, we will
use software called the ADDRESS. The ADDRESS is a computer program designed
for tracking and analyzing school discipline incidents and office referrals. This
program is capable of managing and analyzing data at the individual, classroom,
grade level and school levels. This will be beneficial to our policy and our positive
school climate as another way to keep track of students behavior and context of the
incidents that are occurring to spot trends and recognize bigger issues that may be
going on in the students lives or within the community.




Works Cited

Advancement Project, Power U Center for Social Change. (2007). Telling It Like It Is:
Youth Speak Out on the School-to-Prison Pipeline. Retrieved May 5, 2014
from
http://b.3cdn.net/advancement/54c290ce86e7ee7c70_3d0m6ue80.pdf

Arkansas State Personnel Development Grant | Office Discipline Referral Software
(Arkansas State Personnel Development Grant | Office Discipline Referral
Software) http://www.arstudentsuccess.org/data-collectionanalysis-
warehouse/officediscipline-referral-software.html

Gay, Geneva. (2004, January). The Importance of Multicultural Education.
Educational Leadership: New Needs, New Curriculum, 61(4), 30-35.

NASP. (n.d.). Zero Tolerance and Alternative Strategies: A Fact Sheet for Educators
and Policymakers. NASP Fact Sheet. Retrieved April 30, 2014, from
http://www.nasponline.org/resources/factsheets/zt_fs.aspx

Osher, D., Bear, G.G., Sprague, J.R., & Doyle, W. (2010). How Can We Improve School
Discipline? Educational Researcher 39(1), 48-58.