The "zero tolerance" rules that set absolute and strict punishments for wayward students in Wake County are about to be changed for the better. Administrators recognized, and the school board unanimously agreed, that students on long-term suspensions should not be banished for the remainder of a school year. The suspensions will be shorter in some cases, and the students will return.
Obviously, young people who are habitual problems are a distraction for classmates and an unfair burden for teachers trying to get a job done. But board member John Tedesco got it right when he said "When children are left to the streets for a year or better, they'll do drugs and join gangs and not likely come back."
The system, and parents or mentors, obviously have to try to turn things around for students whose behavior gets them a long-term suspension. The board's move toward easing "zero tolerance" will give them an opportunity to do so.
