# Can We Have Another Rant About Zero Tolerance Policies? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 20, 2014, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-have-another-rant-about-zero-tolerance-policies/684183 "2014-03-20T20:22:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2014, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-have-another-rant-about-zero-tolerance-policies/684183/61 "2014-03-25T15:04:02Z")
> [@Grumman](#): > > My objection is to being such a fucking coward that you’d rather make no choice at all than do your fucking job and do what is best for the children under your stewardship. So would you support a school principal that decides he should search all his students to check to see if they’re carrying drugs or weapons? Sure, the law says that’s an illegal search. But he’s doing what is best for the children under his stewardship and that, according to you, puts him above the law. Fucking fuckity fuck fuck. ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2014, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-have-another-rant-about-zero-tolerance-policies/684183/62 "2014-03-25T17:12:45Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > So would you support a school principal that decides he should search all his students to check to see if they’re carrying drugs or weapons? Sure, the law says that’s an illegal search. But he’s doing what is best for the children under his stewardship and that, according to you, puts him above the law. Fucking fuckity fuck fuck. No I wouldn’t, dumbass, because violating your students’ rights is the exact opposite of protecting them. ---
**Author:** ![lance\_strongarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/87869e/32.png) [@lance\_strongarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lance_strongarm)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2014, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-have-another-rant-about-zero-tolerance-policies/684183/63 "2014-03-25T17:39:03Z")
> [@Grumman](#): > > No I wouldn’t, dumbass, because violating your students’ rights is the exact opposite of protecting them. No it’s not. It’s protecting them from getting shot! Most kids think that trumps privacy rights. So… ---
**Author:** ![Trick\_Rider](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Trick\_Rider](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trick_Rider)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2014, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-have-another-rant-about-zero-tolerance-policies/684183/64 "2014-03-26T02:32:56Z")
> [@lance\_strongarm](#): > > No it’s not. It’s protecting them from getting shot! Most kids think that trumps privacy rights. So… How about you pick a side? Or are you just here to disagree with everyone? The school really couldn’t have handled this much worse. Zero tolerance policies are idiotic to begin with, but the purpose of the policies is ostensibly to eliminate human error. I think maybe the best way to eliminate human error is to hire competent school staff. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2014, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-have-another-rant-about-zero-tolerance-policies/684183/65 "2014-03-26T05:38:53Z")
> [@Grumman](#): > > No I wouldn’t, dumbass, because violating your students’ rights is the exact opposite of protecting them. So you’re saying it’s okay for people to break a law if it’s a law you personally don’t like? But other people don’t have the right to pick laws they want to disobey? Well, I guess this is progress. We’ve isolated the problem down to you. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2014, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-have-another-rant-about-zero-tolerance-policies/684183/66 "2014-03-26T14:30:25Z")
> [@lance\_strongarm](#): > > The point is that she shouldn’t even have been written up in the first place! > [@Senegoid](#): > > Or how about, they should wait until having a hearing or some such quasi-judicial proceeding, and _then_ suspend the student if that’s their finding – instead of suspending the student immediately pending a hearing sometime in the future. > > Shoot first and ask questions later much? **Lance** was absolutely correct. The principal could have exercised some basic common sense and simply determined that the girl did the right thing in helping her classmate by taking the razor blade away. Instead, the principal hid behind the ZT policy. I hope the girl’s parents file a massive lawsuit against the school board and the principal. That’s the only way that moronic decisions like ZT are going to be eliminated. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-have-another-rant-about-zero-tolerance-policies/684183.md?page=3)