Discipline, Achievement, and Race : Is Zero Tolerance the Answer?

Fifty years after Brown v Board of Education inequalities in public education are evident in the disproportionate numbers of Black and Latino students who are held back, often do not graduate from high school, or are removed from school by unforgiving zero tolerance discipline policies. The National Center for Educational Statistics (2002) suspension data indicates that minority students are punished more often and more severely than their peers. Author Augustina Reyes contends that when ineffective zero tolerance discipline policies disproportionately remove minority and low-income students from schools the very roots of a democracy are threatened. This policy clashes with fundamental educational beliefs of education as a right and responsibility for educating all children. It is important for educators to understand the disproportionate effects of zero tolerance discipline policies on low-income students, at-risk students, special education students, and students of color. It is equally important that educators critically investigate the affects of zero tolerance discipline policies, re-evaluate the use of zero tolerance discipline policies in public schools, and promote effective child-centered discipline policies and practices. This book offers a comprehensive analysis of policy, practice, and the effects and recommendations for solutions to the exclusionary discipline policies of zero tolerance. It will be of interest to teachers, principals and assistant principals, and counselors.