Schools are tasked with not only teaching the next generation
but also dealing with their misdeeds in the classroom. Striking
a balance between removing students who pose a genuine threat
and keeping as many students in class as possible can't be easy.
Some education officials in Michigan believe too many students
are getting expelled and suspended. The State Board of Education
is right to encourage schools to rethink their punitive
policies. The board passed a resolution last week, addressing
what trustees called "the alarming rate of suspensions in school
districts across Michigan." Fearing that too many suspensions
and expulsions harm student performance and graduation rates,
the board wants schools to limit zero-tolerance policies to
instances involving weapons and other offenses laid out in law.
Last school year, schools expelled 1,400 students — with more
than 900 of those expulsions for 100 days or more. ... Kyle
Guerrant, director of school support services with the Michigan
Department of Education, a