State's zero-tolerance policies victimize 'good' kids

Parents say officials go too far, violate childrens' constitutional rights

8 June 2000, Author & source unknown

Families in New Jersey are becoming increasingly frustrated with "zero-tolerance" policies in the nation's public schools.

Case in point: Parents in Sayreville, N.J., are venting their anger by suing school officials over the suspension of their son for playing "cops and robbers" on the playground during recess. Known only as A.G., the 5-year-old kindergartner made news after he and three of his friends were suspended March 15 for three days. The boys were "guilty" of using their fingers as guns and shouting words like 'bang' while running around in the school yard.

A.G. and the three other students were removed from their classroom and taken to the school office where they were questioned about their conduct. Without notice to A.G.'s parents, he and his friends were suspended and sent home.

"Kids are going to be kids, and boys, especially, are going to play 'cops and robbers,'" said John W. Whitehead, president of the Rutherford Institute -- a nonprofit civil liberties organization representing A.G.'s parents, Scot and Cassandra Garrick.

In another New Jersey case, a 9-year-old student was suspended from school for a day and ordered to undergo a psychological evaluation after mentioning to a friend his intent to "shoot" his classmate with a wad of paper. District officials then notified local police and suspended Hagood under the school's zero-tolerance policy. Local police went to the Hagood home after midnight and questioned Michael about the "shooting" incident.

Yet the sweeping policies do not seem to prevent "the real kids that are causing the problem" from wreaking havoc in schools, he added. "Innocent children are getting punished. At a certain point, it stops making sense." says Whitehead.

n attorney affiliated with the Rutherford Institute filed a suit on behalf of the Garricks in the U.S. District Court for New Jersey [ http://pacer.njd.uscourts.gov/  ] last Thursday. The complaint names the Sayreville Board of Education, Superintendent William Bauer and Wilson School Principal Georgia Baumann as defendants. The Garricks claim their son's First, Fifth, Eighth and Fourteenth Amendment rights were violated as a result of the suspension and that the action resulted in the violation of a New Jersey law entitling him to a free and thorough public education. They are asking officials to expunge the boy's school record, removing mention of the suspension, and they also seek compensatory and punitive damages.