Board may revise zero tolerance

Danette Goulet

NEWPORT-MESA -- A proposed revision to the school district’s

zero-tolerance policy will beef it up, not ease it.

The revision, if it’s passed by the school board tonight, will outline

the Newport-Mesa Unified School District’s intolerance of violence and

threats of violence by students against students.

“The district will not tolerate any gestures, comments, threats or

actions, either written, verbal or physical, which cause or threaten to

cause or are likely to cause bodily harm, personal degradation or

disgrace,� the proposed new section of the policy reads.

The proposed change comes in response to parents’ concerns, said Jaime

Castellanos, the district’s assistant superintendent of secondary

education.

“Parents were concerned that there was nothing in our policy that

spoke to violence,� Castellanos said. “They wanted to specifically see

something that spoke to this issue.�

The 4210 zero-tolerance policy in the district sets the guidelines for

student conduct. The policy has been the subject of intermittent attacks

over the years, the most recent last week when the American Bar Assn.

passed a resolution at its annual meeting calling for an end to such

policies across the nation.

In Newport-Mesa, the policy calls for the immediate suspension and

transfer of a student caught with, or under the influence of, drugs or

alcohol.

The section parents and district staff are asking to be added to the

policy would not have the same conditions as the drugs and alcohol

section.

Punishment for violence, threats and bullying would range from a

parent conference to expulsion for the most extreme cases, Castellanos

said. It would also provide counseling.

“We haven’t made it so rigid that we are not applying common sense,�

Supt. Robert Barbot said. “It sends a strong but fair message and is part

of an ongoing process -- one recommended to the board by the district

safety group.�

The revision was prepared with the help of a task force composed of

parents and school and district staff members after a schoolyard bully at

Corona del Mar middle school put a child in the hospital.

Parents were hoping to crack the “code of silence in the schoolyard�

that they believe kept students from coming forward when a 13-year-old

boy was choked by a classmate last spring.

The incident sent a group of concerned parents on a crusade to stop

schoolyard violence. The group spoke to school board members several

months ago asking for their help.

The proposed policy revision is the result.

“I’m really excited about it,� said Cyndie Borcoman, the Corona del

Mar parent leading the crusade. “I think it’s a positive step because it

identifies specific behavior that is common to middle school kids, who

are jockeying for position.�

Borcoman said just having the policy will help to alleviate some of

the bullying problems.

“Having a policy that is specific is a really big step,� she said.

“That this behavior is not accepted, just having a policy like that, is

preventive.�

District staff and the school board may also use the proposed revision

as an opportunity to discuss the rest of the controversial zero-tolerance

policy, Barbot said.