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16 Geo. J. on Poverty L. & Pol'y 585 (2009)
Addressing the Unintended Consequences of No Child Left Behind and Zero Tolerance: Better Strategies for Safe Schools and Successful Students

handle is hein.journals/geojpovlp16 and id is 595 raw text is: Georgetown Journal on Poverty Law & Policy Volume XVI, Symposium Issue 2009 Addressing the Unintended Consequences of No Child Left Behind and Zero Tolerance: Better Strategies for Safe Schools and Successful Students Deborah Gordon Klehr* About this, there is no controversy: we want all our children to succeed. We are all better off when our children are educated and can become productive members of society. We want safe schools and recognize the effect of school climate on students' ability to learn. And yet, despite efforts to facilitate safe, effective learning, we as a society often end up failing our children. As a result of federal laws such as the No Child Left Behind Act, as well as state and school district laws and policies, schools and districts are under enor- mous pressure. Administrators are expected to produce data that shows stu- dents are achieving. At the same time, these administrators are subject to so- cial and political pressure to remove disruptive students from school entirely Given these dual pressures, many states and school districts have adopted zero tolerance policies, under which students are suspended or expelled for mis- behavior without taking into account individual or mitigating circumstances. When both multiple goals and rigid policy interpretations exist, the law of un- intended consequences often applies, resulting in worse overall outcomes for our schools, students, and society. For instance, zero tolerance rules push so-called disruptive students out of school entirely, thereby also removing the pressure to teach these students to achieve academically Children who are pushed out of school are then less likely to become productive members of society and more likely to become involved in the juvenile delinquency or adult criminal system. There is overall consensus that school safety is important and that schools should be safe environments where teachers can teach and children can learn. But with little evidence supporting the effectiveness of zero tolerance policies in improving school climate, we must explore better, even radically different strategies. To improve school climate, schools, districts, and states would do better to employ preventative, evidence-based, data-driven strategies such as School-Wide Positive Behavior Support (SWPBS), rather than exclude chil- dren from schools through overly broad zero tolerance policies. * Deborah Gordon Klehr is a Staff Attorney at the Education Law Center of Pennsyl- vania. A.B. Princeton University (2ooo); J.D. Harvard Law School (2oo4). © 2oxo, Deborah Gordon Klehr.

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