question on Zero Tolerance

[BuzzKill]

Looking back, I have some regrets, and will admit that things might have gone better, had I dropped her out and let her take the GED. At the time, dropping her out seemed unthinkable. But the point is, she was entitled by federal law to a free public education; and no member of a public school staff has any business trying to force a child out of the school system - and especially not just b/c they are to lazy to do their job - and especially not by telling blatant lies to intimidate a parent.  And I very strongly suspect our case was by no means isolated.

[Karass]

My oldest son had a teacher in 1st or 2nd grade -- it's been so long ago I forget which -- who seemed to have decided on her own that my son had ADHD and should be tested to confirm it. I was pissed that a teacher with no psychology or medical credentials would presume to diagnose my kid. But my wife, being the 'concerned mom,' took him to a child psychologist, who concluded that he was not ADD or ADHD -- just bright, curious, playful and energetic.

The teacher was even more pissed when we told her those results and informed her that he would not be taking any drugs to take care of his so-called classroom behavior problems. My attitude was basically "why don't you just do your fucking job and teach him, so he isn't bored and looking for things to do?"

[Anonymous]

Just saw this post and wanted to chime in.

We had the same thing happen with our son, although it turned out he was adhd and odd, however, we didn't put him on the meds immediately, then we took him off.  One day the teacher called and demanded I come to school and give him a pill.  By law, she cannot ask him if he took a pill or not, which she did.  Could have had her ass in a sling.  I basically told her where to put it.  Teachers don't want to teach anymore, they'd prefer a bunch of drugged out, lifeless kids, so life would be easy for them.  Get another profession assholes.

[Karass]

Back to Zero Tolerance and the inequity of drug-free school zones with harsher penalties. A very recent article in the Palm Beach Post discussed the racial injustice of these laws. In Palm Beach county, blacks are serving longer sentences than whites for drug offenses, based simply on where they live -- a direct result of 1,000 foot drug-free school zones that cover huge geographic areas that tend to be more populated with blacks than with whites.

Here's the link:

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/politics/c ... _0701.html

Take a look at this map and you might get the idea that these laws have little to do with protecting school children and everything to do with cracking down on minorities and lower income citizens.

[Anonymous]

Does this mean I am breaking the law when I drive my kid to school with perscription drugs in my purse?  Kids can't even have an aspirin on them without getting suspended for a Zero Tolerance violation.

[Karass]

Does this mean I am breaking the law when I drive my kid to school with perscription drugs in my purse?  Kids can't even have an aspirin on them without getting suspended for a Zero Tolerance violation.

Check your local laws, because the answer might really be "yes." I know for a fact that I would be breaking the law here if I have a pack of cigarettes on me when I enter a school zone.

AFAIK, no city or state makes a legal distinction between "on campus" and "within a school zone" -- they are one and the same. As far as the extra penalties for drug & weapons violations are concerned, anyone in those orange areas on the W. Palm Beach or Delray Beach maps is essentially "at school" when they commit an offense.

[Oz girl]

Thanks 7s punk. That was actually really useful. I take it from yuor suggestion the areas highlighted are less then well to do?

[Anonymous]

Thanks 7s punk. That was actually really useful. I take it from yuor suggestion the areas highlighted are less then well to do?

Not all of the highlighted areas are less than well to do. But the point is that the inner city areas -- which are poorer and have higher minority populations -- are basically 100% covered by overlapping school zones, while the wealthier suburbs are not nearly so covered. So a black man getting popped for drugs in his own neighborhood is doubly screwed by the extra 'school zone' sentencing just because of where he lives, while a white man in the suburbs has a much greater chance of not being in a school zone when he gets popped for the same offense.

[Anonymous]

I got expelled for razor blades. They said it was to cut people's faces. But I said it was to cut yay and they said it didn't matter.