ABSTRACT
In the mid-1990s, the issue of school discipline gained heightened public attention owing, in part, to an increase of violence among urban youth and a number of school shootings, primarily in white suburban high schools. In response, politicians and educational policy makers appropriated the “tough on crime” discourse associated with current criminal justice policies, and declared “zero tolerance” for offending students. Zero tolerance attaches swift and harsh consequences to student offenses. Suspension, expulsion, police intervention, and, at times, entrance into the criminal justice system for even minor, first-time offenses are typical responses (Skiba and Peterson, 1999).
