Zero tolerance execution problems within the state of Tennessee public schools
Abstract
The Gun Free School Act of 1994 mandated that each school establish a zero tolerance policy and produce a yearly report concerning the number of students expelled and the type of violation committed. To better develop a picture of related policy effects across grade level, gender, race, and violation offenses, the purpose of this study was to review requisite state data concerning zero tolerance in Tennessee public schools. The selected population consisted of both public middle and high school students in the state of Tennessee among the years of 1993 to 1997. The chi square treatment was used to determine any significant differences. Additionally, the odds ratio was used to compare one variable to another. The study compared (1) junior high and high school students; (2) male and female; (3) African Americans and Caucasians; and (4) gun and drug violations. The chi square analyses indicated significant differences in all categories. Further, the odds ratio demonstrated the following: (1) high school students were 1.59 times as likely as junior high students to have been expelled; (2) males were 4.0 times as likely as females to have been expelled; and (3) African Americans were 3.72 times as likely to have been expelled as Caucasians.
Subject Area
School administration|Academic guidance counseling|African Americans
Recommended Citation
Arthur Drake,
"Zero tolerance execution problems within the state of Tennessee public schools"
(1999).
ETD Collection for Tennessee State University.
Paper AAI3007602.
https://digitalscholarship.tnstate.edu/dissertations/AAI3007602