Chris Jones: Greene Publishing, Inc.
Zero tolerance policies in American schools began to gain traction in the 1980s and 90s, when Congress made receiving federal education funds dependent upon states passing laws requiring all school districts to expel any student who brings a weapon to school. This was the pretext for the modern zero tolerance policies that schools have throughout the country. Some schools applied the policy to a wide spectrum of offenses, leading to students being expelled for minor crimes. In Madison County, however, there are only two particular sets of offenses that inherently require the application of zero tolerance.
According to the District School Board of Madison County's Code of Student Conduct, which is in compliance with Florida law, zero tolerance applies to students who either: 1. Bring a firearm or weapon to school, any school function, or onto any school-sponsored transportation, or 2. Make a threat or false report of a bomb or explosive device involving the school, school-sponsored activities, or school-sponsored transportation. Madison County School Superintendent Dr. Karen Pickles said recently that her first priority is making sure children are safe. She stressed that the district's zero tolerance policy applies equally to all students.
According to the zero tolerance policy, any student found to have committed one of the aforementioned offenses shall be expelled, with or without continuing educational services, from the student's regular school for at least one year. However, the Superintendent may consider the mandatory expulsion on a case-by-case basis and request the student, pending School Board approval, instead be enrolled in a second chance school. Madison's second chance school is the Excel Alternative School, which was investigated by the school district regarding accusations by a former teacher in the latter part of 2016. The investigation concluded that the reports were merely the unfounded complaints of a recently terminated disgruntled employee. Madison's Excel school teaches students in grades six through 12, and enables students to recover credit toward graduation. Students are evaluated for placement back into the regular school system every 45 days.
If a parent is concerned for their child's safety or that their child has not been treated fairly by the school district's policies, the first step is to engage the particular school's administrators. If an understanding cannot be reached at that level, parents should call the district office and request a meeting with the Superintendent.