Abstract

Zero tolerance as an approach to school safety has been around for almost 3 decades. Despite widespread criticisms of zero tolerance policies, few empirical studies have investigated the relationship of zero tolerance with school safety. More generally, the Government Accountability Office report on school shootings noted the need for research on the link between school discipline and school safety. Using a statewide survey from 108,888 students and 10,990 teachers from almost all Virginia middle schools, we found that a majority of surveyed teachers (74%) supported the use of zero tolerance as an effective discipline practice. Analysis using both linear and logistic regression indicated that support for zero tolerance was associated with higher rates of out-of-school suspension. Contrary to the goals of zero tolerance, both students and teachers in schools with greater support for zero tolerance had lower feelings of safety at school, even after controlling for school and student characteristics associated with safety. These findings offer new evidence to support efforts by school psychologists to discourage the use of zero tolerance and promote more effective school discipline practices.

Impact Statement

• Despite widespread criticism of zero tolerance policies, approximately 74% of middle school teachers in Virginia supported the use of zero tolerance as an effective disciplinary practice.

• Higher support for zero tolerance was associated with higher out-of-school student suspension rates and lower feelings of safety as reported by both students and teachers.

• Alternative disciplinary practices that advocate for the use of nonexclusionary disciplinary sanctions should consider teacher beliefs about the value of zero tolerance policies.

摘要

零容忍作为学校安全的一种方法已经存在了近 3 年。尽管零容忍政策受到广泛批评，但很少有实证研究调查零容忍与学校安全的关系。更普遍的是，政府问责办公室关于学校枪击事件的报告指出，有必要研究学校纪律与学校安全之间的联系。通过对来自几乎所有弗吉尼亚中学的 108,888 名学生和 10,990 名教师进行的全州调查，我们发现大多数接受调查的教师 (74%) 支持将零容忍作为一种有效的纪律做法。使用线性和逻辑回归的分析表明，支持零容忍与较高的校外停学率相关。与零容忍的目标相反，即使在控制了与安全相关的学校和学生特征之后，对零容忍有更大支持的学校中的学生和教师在学校的安全感都较低。这些发现提供了新的证据来支持学校心理学家阻止零容忍的使用和促进更有效的学校纪律实践的努力。

影响声明

• 尽管零容忍政策受到广泛批评，但弗吉尼亚州约有 74% 的中学教师支持将零容忍作为一种有效的纪律做法。

• 正如学生和教师所报告的那样，对零容忍的更高支持与更高的校外学生停学率和更低的安全感有关。

• 提倡使用非排他性纪律制裁的替代纪律做法应考虑教师对零容忍政策价值的信念。