Chicago Students Demand Disciplinary Policy Revisions

A Chicago student advocacy group is fed up with its school system's zero-tolerance disciplinary policies.

Voices of Youth in Chicago Education rallied at Chicago Public Schools headquarters Thursday with a report that demands that the district revise what it calls a skewed set of regulations. They demanded a meeting with the heads of the district.

The current rules are strict: One student was arrested and taken to the police station for writing his name on a desk. Others were suspended for bringing cell phones to school or not wearing parts of their uniforms, The Chicago Sun-Times reports.

WBEZ reports that recent high school graduate Carlil Pittman was expelled two years ago for skipping class, and 10 schools he tried to enroll in wouldn't take him because he had been previously expelled.

From WBEZ:

The gist of the zero tolerance policy is that CPS students can get suspended or expelled if they "seriously disrupt the orderly educational process." What exactly "seriously disrupting" means is up to teachers' and schools' discretion, but in theory the policy is designed to keep schools safe from violence and drugs.

But the students say that the rules are overly harsh and CPS has a tilted approach -- its disproportionate security and guidance budgets also limits the district from earnings and hurts school graduation rates. CPS spent 15 times more on school-based security guards last year than on college and career counselors: $51.4 million versus $3.5 million, the Chicago Tribune reports.

The VOYCE report concludes:

As this report shows, for too long Chicago Public Schools has pursued a disastrous approach to discipline that is neither effective nor financially responsible. In these times of fiscal crisis, it is more important than ever that CPS bring these policies and practices to an end. VOYCE is calling on CPS to end the overuse of costly, ineffective harsh discipline policies, and instead make smart investments in the policies needed to build safe, supportive and engaging learning environments. It's the right thing for students, families and taxpayers alike.

[See slideshow below for figures from the VOYCE report]

The report results form a year-long collaboration between VOYCE and civil rights organization The Advancement Project that studied discipline policies at various schools across the country and that conducted a cost analysis of the CPS budget, according to the Chicago News Cooperative.

Among their recommendations:

◆ Eliminate regulations that call for suspensions for minor offenses that do not threaten student safety, like tardiness, bringing a cell phone to school or violating dress code.

◆ Replace some out-of-school suspensions of up to 10 days with in-school suspensions of no more than three days (plus academic and other assistance).

◆ Require principals to get district approval for suspensions of over five days, to ensure district-wide uniformity.

The Chicago News Cooperative also reports that CPS officials say expulsion rates have fallen more than 28 percent in the last two years, and expect suspension rates to decrease as well. The district has yet to respond to the students' request for a meeting with school board leaders.

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Chicago Teachers Strike

Controversial Curriculum Changes Affecting Schools In 2012-13

Teacher Spending On Students

Best Countries For Education (Economist Intelligence Unit)

Graduation Rates Nationwide 2010-2011

Results Of State Ballot Measures That NEA Was Tracking

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Comments

[Protocolor]

08:33 AM on 08/14/2011

If you don't want your charming angels suspended, arrested, or expelled, then teach them responsible behavior. If you parents can't or don't want to teach your offspring manners and leave the task to schools... well, that's what the suspensions and arrests are for.

[Protocolor]

08:32 AM on 08/14/2011

Too many comments here like :"Arrested for just writing his name on a desk? How awful! That's so unreasonable!"

If you believe this kid had been a model of good behavior prior to his arrest and that one day he just misbehaved slightly by writing his name in pencil on some inconspicuous corner of a desk and that some storm trooper teacher then collared him and frog-marched our little scholar down to the school security officer, giving him no opportunity to correct his error or otherwise make things right, then you are naive in the extreme.

It's possible this kid had never been a disruption problem in class and was cooperative and well behaved. It's possible the teacher came unhinged at the slightest provocation, but it is profoundly unlikely because such a brittle individual could not survive the first week in an urban American classroom. More likely is the teacher tried repeatedly to correct the student's behavior before escalating the matter to formal sanctions. The student was probably handed a spray bottle and paper towels and told to clean the desk but refused to do so, likely vocally and belligerently and in such a manner as to effect the maximum disruption of the class.

While defacing public property is what the child was officially sanctioned for, it almost certainly was escalated to official intervention because the child's insubordinate and disruptive behavior. Insubordinate and disruptive behavior that may well have included shouted profanities, threats and hurled objects.

[jwmellott]

10:03 AM on 08/13/2011

This story reminds me of the leftist whining when a guy in California got life in prison for "stealing a bicycle". What he stole was irrelevant, of course--- he broke into a house, which is a violent crime known as home invasion. It was his third felony, making it 3 strikes and you're out.
Leave the desks alone, kiddies; leave the cell phones put away; PULL UP YOUR PANTS!

[Mudshark3625]

08:27 PM on 08/12/2011

Many students are not officially suspended. They are sent home (assuming they have one) for the day if they show up late or without the right uniform and it doesn't go on the record as a suspension. The idea is to repeatedly do this to the students you want to discourage from coming back such as students who have behavioral or academic problems. Unfortunately, this tends to have a disproportionate effect on disadvantaged students who the school feels will not do well on the ISAT or PSAE tests.

Since the charter and some turnaround schools do not have to abide by the CPS School Code of Conduct, this is more common in the deregulated, privately-managed schools. The traditional public schools are dumping grounds for the students these schools do not want.

Unfortunately, studies are showing that with a combination of zero-tolerance drug policies and zero-tolerance school policies, many of these students end up in prison. Since it costs six times more to incarcerate a youth than it does to educate them, zero-tolerance policies are not just a detriment to students, but to society as a whole. I suspect someone is profiting in some way from all of this. I am positive it is not our most disadvantaged students or the American public.

[whodo1952]

11:55 AM on 08/12/2011

25 years ago, my children were attending a school in california, where witting your name, or in any way defacing school property, was greeted with zero tolerance.
Most "grown-up adults" agreed with this policy, after all what was there to logically argue about?
The school, not wanting to squash the creative efforts of students who would otherwise willfully disrespect everyone's right to a clean and respectable learning environment, free of distractions, provided "FREE OF CHARGE" to anyone who wanted to be involved, paint, paint brushes, and all sorts of art supplies to paint or "tag," to their hearts content. (after school)
Any violating "tagging" of school property, would suffer pre-set consequence.
The canvas? The entire outside hard top shared spaces, walk ways, quads, play grounds, and parking lots.
Then a contest, picnic, was held before the last month of school.
Who ever had the winning art work, "judged by their peers,' got the right to place a mural on the welcoming wall of the school to be viewed by the whole town for the next year.
The students self governed themselves here because for some, their tagging art work was serious.
Any vandalism was usually cleaned up and dealt with by the students themselves.
Not a bad investment of productive time and energy for that school district!
( the supplies were donated )

[blindfolded]

10:52 PM on 08/11/2011

I’ve been reading a lot about this lately, kids being carted out of classrooms in cuffs for petty crimes such as scribbling on a desk, and to me it’s extreme! Beware, school is becoming a privilege in the U.S, and soon only the privileged (prime picked) will be attending!

[suezim69]

06:07 PM on 08/11/2011

I used to write/draw on my desk when I was a kid and guess what they would make me clean it. The punishment should fit the crime.

[mrfnk]

08:29 PM on 08/10/2011

I do not agree with all the rules, but where I live vandalism is a crime. He was arrested and taken to the police station, good!

[Alex Croley]

07:43 AM on 08/11/2011

For writing one's name on a desk? Overkill is just the first word that comes to mind. Wasteful is another, not just of time but cost. Lazy would be the third word that would come to mind, kicking the teen down to the cops without dealing with them in school is just a lack of functional governing in a school.

[mrfnk]

09:58 AM on 08/11/2011

you think graffiti shouldn't be a crime?
you have any idea of the cost and effort that goes into the constant cleanup of graffiti? but what's much worse is that I remember kids i knew getting killed over "the writing the on the wall" or the desk in this matter. "overkill" is the wrong idea, and proof of your ignorance on the subject.

[spoonbill1963]

01:31 PM on 08/11/2011

I wish they could make you clean up all this damage. You progressive types are too much.

[MindyC]

05:45 PM on 08/10/2011

Common sense, a lost art.

[rtgmath]

06:19 PM on 08/09/2011

Children have been writing/inscribing their names and initials on desks for hundreds of years. It is a way of saying, "I was here!" To treat such a time-honored and human reaction as a criminal offense is ridiculous. Like all no-tolerance tactics, the Chicago disciplinary policy will fail because the people involved are human beings, not automatons.

One will find that the disciplinary policy also reflects the educational policy. If the disciplinary policy sees children as mere automatons where a single deviation means throw them out, then their education practices cannot treat children as individuals.

Throw out the policy and those who made it. Treat the children with respect and understand that children are human beings. Charge for repairs to the desk, if you cannot bear the idea of children leaving a legacy of themselves. But do not criminalize such behavior.

[PCPrincess]

01:00 AM on 08/10/2011

Couldn't have said it better myself!

[MindyC]

05:48 PM on 08/10/2011

Hear, hear, rtgmath! If you can't figure out a way to teach respect by treating kids WITH respect - as individuals, humans who make mistakes but can learn from them, then you should absolutely not be a part of any educational system. Period. It CAN be done. I've seen it. Chicago, fix this.

[JohnT1919]

01:40 PM on 08/09/2011

ANYTHING can be excessive, including rules and discipline.

Make no mistake. Kids do need discipline, and lots of it; however, it needs to be tempered, balanced, and fairly administered. Things should never be so black or white.

This sounds like a typical, lazy bureaucracy, providing only bandaid, homogenized, one-size-fits-all solutions. They seem unwilling to take on and effectively deal with the issues today's students face.

[SamAnne]

01:26 AM on 08/09/2011

I am not an advocate of zero-tolerance policies, but am ardently opposed to classrooms without discipline. Adopting a Zero Tolerance policy could be a result of meting out inconsistent punishments (one kid brings a knife to school and the teacher holds it till the end of the day for a parent to pick up, whereas another student with a knife is promptly expelled with weapons charges).

When similar offenses result in different consequences, parents and teachers cite favoritism, racism, and gender-bias (and unfortunately, these may be accurate accusations). So, they institute a one-size-fits-all punishment system.

This article exposes some harsh consequences, but these are not arbitrarily implemented. Where were the teachers, parents, and student representatives when these blanket consequences were proposed to the board? Then again, I am presuming that this district has a democratic method for creating policies. I am not familiar with that school district and am making judgments based on what I experience in my district.

[MindyC]

05:50 PM on 08/10/2011

I cringe when I hear the word discipline. If we adopted an attitude of respect - for each other, for teachers, for children - and applied it in classrooms across the board - I guarantee we'd see a decrease in the need for any kind of disciplinary action. I don't mean that chaos should be allowed. But there are so many better ways to run schools than this. Common sense is getting harder and harder to find, anywhere.

[Protocolor]

09:39 AM on 08/14/2011

"I cringe when I hear the word discipline­. If we adopted an attitude of respect - for each other, for teachers, for children..." and then we could all sit around the camp fire singing Kumbaya.

Here is a real scenario many urban teachers may recognize: You're in an 11th grade reading class. You spot a student, James, absently scribbling on a desk. He's been instructed to be following along silently in the textbook while another student, Krystal, reads a passage. He's supposed to be figuring out who the good guys and bad guys in the passage are and why he feels that way about those characters, but his textbook is closed and he's ignoring Krystal. You don't want to interrupt Krystal as she's normally shy but doing great at the moment; unfortunately, James has now broken open his pen and is pouring ink on the desk. In a few more moments that ink is going to be on students sitting beside and in front of him. You grab paper towels and a bottle of Windex, plop them on the desk in front of James and quietly (Krystal is still reading) tell him to "Clean that up!"

At that, James jumps up, knocking his chair and desk over and shouts "F*@# YOU MINDY YOU B!~CH! YOU CAN'T TELL ME WHAT TO DO!!"

James is inches taller than you. His fists are up and he makes threatening lunges, but doesn't actually swing at you.

Your response?

[Protocolor]

05:25 PM on 08/14/2011

I don't know where your comment went, so here it is:

"MindyC: Well, obviously, Protocolor, this is a different scenario. The kid in you scenario is threatening a teacher - a far cry from writing on a desk. If the kid who was arrested for writing on the desk had a history of other problems and behaviors, that would be different. You are comparing apples and lemons. I get what you are saying - but the kid who acts like that has been told his whole life that he's a giant screw-up, so he's living up to his reputation. No one is going to fix it in the classroom."

Exactly! That is why he should be suspended, expelled, arrested...

While the student was arrested for writing on a desk, as a teacher I can assure you that is not the whole story. Teachers almost NEVER blow these matters out of proportion and almost ALWAYS downplay the incident. There are three major reasons why:

1) The teacher doesn't want to admit that he or she might have been intimidated or frightened.
2) The teacher wants to protect the student from harsher punishment.
3) Only one offence is necessary to get the problem student removed from class. Writing up all of the others would just be extra work.

[Kimberly Owsley]

12:45 AM on 08/09/2011

Normally I'm a stiff kind of sort for the rules, but these do sound excessive.

[AmSuBloss]

10:13 PM on 08/08/2011

Harsh rules.. okay.. so get over it. Don't break the rules!! Act ride and you won't have to worry about how harsh they are. People learn to raise your children right.

[JohnT1919]

01:26 PM on 08/09/2011

And you could also check your choice of words, lady.

I think that even you understand that things are never, should never be so black or white.

I agree. Don't break the rules; however, anything can be excessive, including rules. There needs to be more balance, here. There is no such thing as one-size-fits-all.

[johnrandall]

04:44 PM on 08/11/2011

Hear, hear. amsubloss should thank her lucky stars that the syntax gods and goddesses don't enforce "harsh rules".

[MindyC]

05:52 PM on 08/10/2011

Wow. Live in fantasy land much? This is the real world, AmSuBloss. And real kids, who make real mistakes. They don't LEARN from their mistakes when the punishment doesn't even come close to fitting the "crime."

[AmSuBloss]

09:49 AM on 08/12/2011

Kids make mistakes as do adults. But I was raised right therefore I was never going around destroying property. Didn't even cross my mind. Therefore if parents can't raise their children correctly, then what else is left to do? Just a smack on the hand and ask them not to do it again? It's not working.

[Protocolor]

09:44 AM on 08/14/2011

Sorry, but you're the one in fantasy land. Try to spend a single day substitute teaching in Chicago and you'll learn real quick just how far from reality your rosy view of the urban school environment is.

[rewith85man]

07:37 PM on 08/08/2011

Thank God that I am not in grade school. It just seems that college is so much better than high school.

In that case, students would be more serious and responsible than they are in high school.

The main reason why some elementary, middle, and high school students don't want to learn and do anything is because some/most teachers and other staff only care about themselves.