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The Parent Advisory Council Team in no way condones or endorses the idea that disruptive, offensive or unmistakably violent behavior by a student should not have consequences equal to the offense. The punishment should indeed, fit, not exceed, the crime. We are not against all suspensions and expulsions, only the stupid ones.
We are a grassroots group of parents who have been through the hardship of gut-wrenching, up close and personal (and undeserved) zero tolerance punishments and retaliation inflicted on us and our children by our local school districts, social services, the police and the courts. Unfortunately there are those in power who do not hesitate to abuse that power and the law rarely, if ever, holds them accountable.
We created this website in an attempt to advocate and educate parents and students in the public schools and to be a resource to parents who need all the help they can get battling "the system." We have learned the hard way that the system, which we fund with our tax dollars, is NOT on your side.
The community at large must be made aware of the devastating social, emotional and long-term educational impact of unfair zero tolerance policies inflicted on today's youth, especially those in special education.
We wholeheartedly support a positive, but firm, fair and consistent discipline policy that is applied equally and fairly, but most importantly, the parental right to participate and be involved in that discipline in partnership with the school. If parents are never notified that there is a problem, how can they possibly be of help to the school?
Education officials have a responsibility to not only provide a free public education, but to ensure fair, non-discriminatory, and equitable treatment of all children, and to honor their Constitutional and Civil Rights.
We encourage parents to hold education officials accountable when they do not comply with the education and due process laws of the United States of America and by the laws of the State they live in.
In so doing, we will truly ensure that "No Child is Left Behind."
In good faith, we link our assertions to all source information, including government websites, for further study.
STOP THAT BULLY!
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