KRISTIN M. HALL
Associated Press Writer
NASHVILLE - A new report shows the number of Tennessee school children committing zero tolerance offenses has increased 31 percent during the past decade, but there's been improvement in the past couple of years.
Those offenses include drug possession or use, firearms possession and battery against staff members, and they generally result in transfer to an alternative school, expulsion or some other discipline.
The state comptroller's office in a report released this week looked at data from school districts across the state from 1999 through 2008.
In the 1999-2000 school year, the rate was 2.6 offenses per 1,000 students. The rate peaked in the 2005-2006 school year at 3.7 offenses per 1,000 students. The rate for 2007-2008 dipped down to 3.4 offenses per 1,000 students.
Mike Herrmann, Tennessee's executive director of school safety and learning support, said drug possession and use make up the majority of the zero tolerance offenses.
According to the report, drug offenses have increased 45 percent since 1999, even outpacing student population growth. There were nearly 3,000 drug offenses in 2005-2006, the highest since 1999.
Some schools have tried to reduce those drug offenses by implementing health programs that focus on substance abuse, Herrmann said.
Ninth-grade students in their first year of high school have traditionally represented the majority of those committing the offenses, according to the report.
"That's when kids begin to be acting out in a more serious way and where kids who are several years behind grade level get disenchanted about graduation," Herrmann said.
Hermann said many students who violate the policy already are behind in school, increasing their risk of dropping out.
That's where alternative schools for students with disciplinary issues can help to keep kids on track, he said.
Every school district in Tennessee is required to have an alternative school, and a governor's advisory council on alternative education established in 2007 has been studying standards and curriculum for those schools, he said.
Recent state legislation requires more comprehensive tracking of violence in schools, which should provide a better understanding of school safety, Herrmann said.