Schoolyard bully

Schools should not overstep their jurisdiction

Every parent sends his or her child off to school in the morning, trusting that at the end of the day, he or she will return home safely. But in recent years, young students have been testing the waters more and more as drug dealing, harassment and physical violence are more and more commonplace in and around some schools. New legislation in many school districts nationwide gives schools the right to suspend or expel students who partake in illegal activities, regardless of how the legal system disciplines these minors.

Many school officials defend their actions by quoting new federal laws mandating "zero tolerance" for guns and narcotics in public school yards. They claim that in order to foster a healthy and positive classroom environment, strict measures must be employed in dealing with young people who break the law.

But many schools are going further to ensure safe classrooms. In some parts of the country, children who are involved in illegal activities far away from the school's campus can be punished when they arrive in class the next morning. Some parents and guardians are speaking out against these new tactics, saying that the school-imposed punishments undermine their authority.

As the law stands now in many districts, a young boy, for example, who harasses a female classmate over the telephone can be suspended for disrupting the sanctity of the ideal classroom. A matter that otherwise falls within the range of parental discipline and legal intervention is now being decided upon by people who have little or no relation to the children.

The new rules are turning public education into a frightening environment in which every immature act can be punished by the school - creating a situation that makes it difficult for students to learn. Schools are places of learning, not prisons. In their attempt to make classrooms safe for students, these schools have overlooked the fact that their primary job is to educate - the "good apples" as well as the rotten.

It makes sense that no student should fear for his or her safety when she arrives in the morning. But schools should not be promoted to judge and jury. In times when children are not on school property, they are under the auspices of their parents. Similarly, between the hours of 9 a.m. and 3 p.m., it is the job of the school and teachers to mind the children. Assuming a student is dealing drugs on the playground or verbally abusing a comrade in the boy's room, a school should most definitely take punitive action. But when the actions moves away from the school premises, it is between the the child's guardians and the legal system to take action.

If a particular problem were to get out of hand, the police would likely find out and the child would be subject to the juvenile corrections system. The schools' actions could constitute a form of double jeopardy. First, the school punishes the child and after that, he or she could face legal retribution. After being punished so much for one - or even several - wrong-doings, other things can suffer: the student's morale and in turn, his or her studies. While protecting the rights and interests of certain students, these schools are overstepping their role as educator and in the process, abusing the rights of the parents and students. Schools should do something about the rise in childhood misconduct - they should educate students on the repercussions of bad behavior, not strip them of their rights by implementing punitive tactics.

02-10-98