New Year, old trend - Schools into Prisons! It keeps on coming! The NY Times is getting in on it, too, in an article describing how offenses that once meant detention now mean arrest.
Here's a sample from the article:
Experts say the growing criminalization of student misbehavior can be traced to the broad zero-tolerance policies states and local districts began enacting in the mid-1990's in response to a sharp increase in the number of juveniles committing homicides with guns, and to a series of school shootings.
While the juvenile homicide rate has since fallen, and many studies have found that school violence is rare, the public perception of schools — and students — as dangerous remains. Experts say zero-tolerance policies have created an atmosphere in which relatively minor student misconduct often leads to suspensions, expulsions and arrests.
nytimes sneak-in code: login:opensewer; password:iswatching