Texas Zero Tolerance
Texas Zero Tolerance
© 2010 Texas Zero Tolerance
All Rights Reserved
The strictest law sometimes becomes the severest injustice - Benjamin Franklin

When our children in Texas public schools can be accused, found guilty, ticketed, often times arrested and removed from school before parents are notified, then there is something intrinsically wrong with a system that claims to work in partnership with parents for the education and wellbeing of our children.
What a child should and should not do - Do not let your child speak to police before you are contacted and other suggestions to make to your children before you send them to school
Passing the paddle to law enforcement - In many schools the discipline management system established to teach students discipline under school authority has nearly become extinct, replaced by Municipal and Justice of the Peace courts

Conferences in July
TZT will be involved with two conferences in the month of July.

Americans for Prosperity Foundation

RightOnline

RightOnline is a project of Americans for Prosperity Foundation dedicated to advancing liberty and prosperity for all Americans through greater citizen participation online. TZT will be attending July 23rd and 24th in Las Vegas.

Register here.

ACLU-Texas

Youth Rights in Texas: Sensible School Discipline

TZT will be represented on a panel discussion at the ACLU's annual conference in Austin with this year's focus on the disciplinary system in our Texas public schools. This is a must for all who support our efforts at ending school district abuse of our children.

Register for the Saturday July 31, 2010 Conference.


TZT Recently In The News...

Our view on school discipline: Common sense makes a comeback in classrooms- USA Today

Schools' zero-tolerance policies tested - USA Today

Schools' zero tolerance policies short on common sense - The Dallas Morning News

Texas Eases 'Zero Tolerance' Laws - Time Magazine

Schools becoming more 'tolerant' as 'zero tolerance' rules end - The Dallas Morning News

Who’s With Us


Would your group like to be added to the list?


Who’s Against Us


Open Letter to those groups against disciplinary reform


Our Solutions







New cases involving police impunity and rights violations while on campuses:

Suburban Dallas
San Angelo

Are these dangerous weapons?












The Katy Independent School District thinks they are... Enough so to throw one of its students into the slammer.

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The War on Kids is an award winning documentary detailing zero tolerance in America's schools and how out of control our public schools really are. We encourage you to support the documentary by making a purchase. We give it an A+...

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New - in Student's Corner, Amanda Toohey explores the zero tolerance disciplinary policies in public schools and the warehousing of students in the school-to-prison pipeline.

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Texas Zero Tolerance has been featured in a number of national media outlets in the past several months. As a result, we have a large amount of out-of-state traffic. We'd like to hear from you!

If you'd like to report an out-of-state case, please do so using our Report A Case form and tell us what state, city and school district you're from. If you'd just like to drop us a line and tell us what's on your mind, please email us at tztinfo@yahoo.com.

Thanks for all the support!

A special thanks to Texas State Representative Dora Olivo

Unfortunately Rep. Olivo lost her battle in the primary. We have all the respect for her in the world and wish her well. None of the reforms we have realized to date would have happened without her tireless efforts. She has been the protector of the voiceless and she will be missed. God speed Rep. Olivo and thank you so much for your unfailing support since 2003.

Why Texas Zero Tolerance is Needed

As parents of children in the Texas public school system, we are constantly reminded that we are partners in the education of our children.

Many parents in Texas do not realize that if their child is accused of a disciplinary infraction at their school, they can be brought into the school principal’s office, interrogated by school officials, interrogated by police, arrested and taken to jail before parents are notified. After all the dust has settled, you as a parent have few rights for an appeal. Once a citation is written, it cannot be taken back and your child will have to appear in court.

We ask that you take some time to explore our website - examine some of the examples of this abuse in our Reported Cases section and help us reform Chapter 37 (particularly § 37.001 - Student Code of Conduct)  of the Texas Education Code to allow due process and common sense back into our schools. The text of House Bill 171 (previous reform initiative) can be found here.

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When My Child is Disciplined at School - a parental guide provided by Texas Appleseed
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Threat Assessments to Manage Threatening Situations and Create Safer Schools - Catherine Toohey  M. Ed., Senior Emergency Management and School Security Consultant/Texas Association of School Boards, Loss Prevention
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The Texas Education Agency's Safe Schools Program recommends an alternative to zero tolerance - a MUST READ.
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Zeroing Out Zero Tolerance: Eliminating Zero Tolerance Policies in Texas Schools (Texas Tech Law Review) - thorough, careful and thoughtful research, the author makes the tremendous case against continuing zero tolerance disciplinary policies.
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Zero Tolerance - Zero Sense: Our Case for Reform
by Eddie Evans, Co-Director - Texas Zero Tolerance
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"We hold children to higher standards than we hold adults. We don't leave any room for children to make mistakes." ~ Billy Jacobs, former Senior Director of the Safe Schools Division of the Texas Education Agency

“There is no law authorizing an officer to interview a child on campus (except for investigations of child abuse or neglect). The school district can choose. It can permit interrogations, it can refuse to allow interrogations, or it can choose to allow interrogations only if the parent has first been contacted.” - TEA Staff Lawyer

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Texas Zero Tolerance Press Release (08/19/2009) - Reaction to
HB 171 Passage
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Typical cases we have received…






There are many more – many that are complex cases – but in all, we believe that absolute power in the hands of school district administrators have absolutely corrupted common sense.
Confused by some of the terms used on this website? We have a new glossary that will help.