There has been a lot of discussion on the list about Minneapolis Public School policies -- here's some research people might be interested in. diane wiley, Tangletown --
Subject: Zero Tolerance, Zero Evidence http://www.iuinfo.indiana.edu/ocm/releases/zerotolerance.htm <http://www.iuinfo.indiana.edu/ocm/releases/zerotolerance.htm> The report, "Zero Tolerance, Zero Evidence: An Analysis of School Disciplinary Practice," a review of the use of zero tolerance since its inception in the 1980s, finds no credible evidence that removing students from school has made a contribution to school safety, and substantial data showing that school suspension and expulsion are associated with a number of negative outcomes for schools and students. Among the report's findings: (1) Suspension and expulsion are not reserved for serious misbehavior, and in fact are often used in response to minor misbehavior or attendance-related issues. (2) Minority students, especially African-American students, are consistently overexposed to suspension and expulsion, despite a lack of evidence that those students act out more. (3) Zero tolerance is used so inconsistently across schools and school districts that some researchers have concluded that students wishing to lower their chances of being suspended should change schools rather than change their behavior. (4) High rates of recidivism suggest that zero tolerance is not effective in changing student behavior. (5) The use of zero tolerance may increase school dropout. For example, students who have been suspended are more likely to drop out by 10th grade. REMINDERS: 1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
