Show Page 2 — The Herald Journal Logan Utah Thursday April 5 2001 i Zero tolerance leaves students with few By Kelly Lecker tion system Toledo Blade “There are some people who say these things are a violation of civil rights the government intruding too much Others say if you want to make an omelet you have to break a few eggs said Russ Skiba director of the Institute Mich — While violence and the rise FENTON a fear of of zero-toleran- policies ce ' force more and more children out of school many states have not required educators to provide alternative schooling for students who are expelled ' That means many sit at home or walk the streets while their parents work And some never return to school A i student was expelled permanently from the Whiteford Mich school dis- trict last year for chronic truancy and disruptive behavior He cannot attend any public school in Michigan In Toledo Ohio seven students at Bowsher High School were told to sit out 80 days for defacing a Bible in December sparking rumors of a hit list that kept half the students at the school home Connie Pelow the mother of one of the teens said at thetime"If of these kids go back to ' any school’ I will be highly sur- for Child Study at Indiana University “But folks are beginning to realize that putting kids out on the street doesn’t really solve the prob- lem” : ’ prised" Student advocates argue that children who are out of school even for a semester are more likely to drop out and tend to commit more crimes than other children “If you kick a kid out of school and say 'Come back in 180 days’ well’ chances are 'they're not going to come back" said Mike Harrow assistant principal at Algonac High School north of Detroit who oversees a school for expelled children And dropping out he said “would be the worst consequence"’ Educators say they don't take the decision to expel lightly Usually they say it's a - last resort after months or years of bad behavior and having problem students in ai classroom won't benefit any- one When concern over school shootings reached an schools high in the responded with suspensions and policies aimf d at keeping guns and weapons out of School He noted that a student a shooting at a New Orleans school last fall got the gun from a student who was out on the street servinvolved-i- ing an expulsion School administrators say they understand students SHNS photo Brian Sears 16 serving an suspension (ISS) listens to counselor Kim Shepherd at this Blue Water Learning Academy in Algonac Mich When the regular ISS loom is filled (two students) the third student has to sit in this comer V buildings Legislators reacted by passing tough laws arose from a case titled Goss vs Lopez said that children have a right to a public education It is not a fundamental right however in the case of children who have been expelled and had a fair due process hearing There hasn't been a comprehensive study nationwide on what happens to expelled stu- anti-violen- ce “I truly believiewe have thrown out the concept of universal public education" said Ruth Zweifler director of the Student Advocacy Center of Michigan in Ann Arbor which helps students in discipline cases “The parents get fright- ened and they have nowhere to turn The school boards have already made up their minds” In the 1970s a US Court Supreme puling that dents danger they won’t come back if they're not put in an educa should be educated but parents and the community need to understand that schools have tried all they can with many of these students and' there aren't any options left The American Federation of Teachers supports zero-tole- r- arice policies and considers them essential for maintaining order in classrooms so other ' studepts can learn But the organisation supports providing Alternative education for expelled - spokeswoman Celia-Los- "We sice time and time again students who have problems in regular classrooms really benefit from alternative school settings” According to Michigan state Rep Doug Spade the state needs to find a way to pay for alternative schools for expelled students and then make schools educate them "We need to make sure the classroom and school has the atmosphere that's appropriate tq learn" he said “But ai the same time to just throw a stu- dent out and not follow it with some help does not make sense” ’ Student advocates say the : ' who are type kicked out are the ones struggling in school and there’s a liOmm ERYiWPD Am E WEDNESDAY APWL4 NUMBERS 5 12 13 16 43 POWEMALL NUMUH H 11 r y 2x y 8 16 17 22 25 WILD CMOS QUEEN OF SPADES TUESDAY APRS 3 NUMBERS oUdBwn ’ all-ti- mid-199- 0s zero-toleran- ce 25 38 40 43 53 Congratulations to Eddy Walters of Blacktoot! He is this weeks Idaho Survivor Second Chance Winner of $1000! " WUETWWEWIttOTWl iMBVCIMHOLdnmaffKNLlJlfQFI — jfVm if ReelOF INA the Memory LIFETIME Enter to Win an Alaska Fishing Trip with Karl Malone v: :vr 11 jpiDoe your car get it? - I' ’ £ NO niDCNMI NKWMOV ( OTOOB POO COMPLETE DETAILS AMO BBBIBTBATION stu- dents “Discipline is important but so is providing- students with an education” says AFT poomo Promotion omoo Nat 10 soot |