Returning “Decision” to School Discipline Decisions: An Analysis of Recent, Anti-Zero Tolerance Legislation

Public school districts across America are evaluating the effectiveness of zero tolerance school discipline policies.1 Initially developed in the 1980s to combat the war on drugs, zero tolerance policies spread to school districts in the wake of congressional legislation addressing concerns for school safety.2 In addition to expulsions mandated by the Gun-Free Schools Act of 1994, 3 many states required expulsion for other offenses on school property including drug possession, violence, disruptions, and other anti-social behavior.4 Although federal and state drug enforcement agencies eventually abandoned zero tolerance because of its rigidity, 5 zero tolerance attitudes remain ingrained in school districts nationwide.6 Such policies eliminate consideration of student-specific factors.Thus, violations of these policies are effectively strict liability offenses for which a student is disciplined 1. See The Editorial Board, Zero Tolerance, Reconsidered, N.Y.TIMES, Jan. 6, 2014, at A18,