Groups Accuse Fla. Districts of Harsh Discipline Approaches

Policies that take a “zero tolerance” approach to student misbehavior are being overused in Florida, resulting in hundreds of thousands of arrests and suspensions, often for minor misconduct, a report has found.

The study was sparked by an incident that drew national attention a year ago, in which a St. Petersburg kindergartner was handcuffed and arrested after a temper tantrum. ( "Handcuffing of Children Raises Questions," May 18, 2005.)

In the wake of that incident, the Florida State Conference NAACP, the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, and the Advancement Project, a Washington-based civic-advocacy group, examined how zero-tolerance discipline policies were being implemented in the Broward, Duval, Hillsborough, Miami-Dade, Pinellas, and Palm Beach county school districts. They convened public hearings around the state...