An Ethical Critique of Suspension and Zero-Tolerance Policies

Elementary and secondary school leaders advocating remediation and prevention of student discipline problems are doing so in lieu of direct development of student self-discipline (Larson, Smith, & Furlong, 2002). This shift has lead to the use of zero-tolerance strategies towards discipline (Maxcy, 2002). In this article, zero-tolerance policies — in particular, the use of out-o-school suspension — is critiqued from three ethical theory perspectives. This research argues for alternate approaches to discipline (Jackson, Boostrom, & Hansen, 1993; Skiba & Peterson, 1999) based in classical ethical theory, with specific emphasis on social justice (Rawls, 1971). Implications on Australian school systems and educational psychological development are discussed.