Unlike DA, principal used common sense
Louise Benson, Broomfield
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
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The case of Skinner Middle School principal Nicole Veltze epitomizes the continuing criminalization of our children, as prosecutors push more zero tolerance in our schools, even as principals such as Veltze try to move away from it by handling incidents with common sense and in accordance with school policies ("DPS principal cleared of charges," May 10).
There was no "failure to report sexual abuse or neglect," because the incident was student-on-student sexual harassment or inappropriate sexual contact. Child abuse reporting statutes apply to adult-on-child situations, not to children of like ages.
Now that zero tolerance is entrapping school officials as well as students, maybe there will be more attention paid to rational alternatives such as restorative discipline. While not every student misbehavior can be handled this way, and some offenses do require law enforcement referral, the vast majority can and should be handled at the school level.
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May 13, 2008
11:02 a.m.
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rpmcmurphy writes:
If everyone is logged into the system as some sort of criminal, it is much easier to keep tabs on them, and control them, whether it is for a valid reason or not.
May 13, 2008
12:45 p.m.
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me2 writes:
What if this was your daughter? Wish we had some of this zero tolerance for sexual touching when I was a girl in school.
May 13, 2008
2:07 p.m.
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incredulous writes:
There was no common sense involved in this decision whatsoever! It is merely DPS laying the groundwork to defend itself in case of litigation.
Nobody has criminalized these children. They behaved in a criminal manner by sexually assaulting this young girl. And don't kid yourself, this was definitely a sexual assault according to Colorado State Law. Doesn't matter how DPS policy defines sexual harrassment versus assault.
As far as zero tolerance, it's about time! Let's get rid of these trouble makers. If the students who actually go to school for the purpose of learning could do so without being in fear for their safety and even their lives, you might see test scores rise. I don't know about anyone else, but I think I might find it hard to concentrate in class while being sexually assaulted.
May 13, 2008
3:11 p.m.
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jackwoehr writes:
I'm with rpmcmurphy ... These laws are really about making sure that everyone is under the eyes of Big Brother.
May 13, 2008
4:14 p.m.
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BetterEducated writes:
I'm with "incredulous."
Since when do children lose state rights by walking into a public school?
If either of my daughters had come home reporting their "private parts" had been touched in class, I would have called the police if the school had not already done so. I attended K-12 public schools and was never touched, anyplace, anytime.
May 13, 2008
5:11 p.m.
Suggest removal
incredulous writes:
Are you really serious jackwoher? This is not about Big Brother keeping tabs on innocent people going about their everyday lives. This is about protecting students who are victimized by crime. I wonder if you were sexually assaulted, would you be willing to let the offender go because you feared the authorities gathering information about the individual.