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http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/AsSeenOnGMA/story?id=4585388
Has Zero-Tolerance for Sexual Harassment in Schools Gone Too Far?
By JUJU CHANG, ALISHA DAVIS, COLE KAZDIN and OLIVIA STERNS
April 4, 2008
In schools across the country, kids as young as three and four are now
facing charges of sexual harassment that will stay with them permanently
on their school records.
These so-called "zero-tolerance" polices, designed to protect students
from weapons and drugs or sexual violence, are often being taken quite
literally.
Randy Castro, 7, who likes recess and soccer, now has an alarming red
flag in his school records. It started on the playground with a first
grade classmate.
"I saw another kid like hitting her butt so I did it," Castro said.
His Potomac View Elementary School then called the police and wrote him
up as a sexual harasser. Woodbridge, Md. school officials described the
incident as "Sexual Touching Against Student, Offensive," in their
report.
"When I hear 'mommy they called police because I am a bad boy,' that is
the message that you're giving to a 6-year-old?" said Randy's mother,
Claudia Castro.
Ted Feinberg, assistant director of the National Association of School
Psychologists, was stunned by the school's reaction and says 6-year-olds
have no idea what those behaviors mean.
"I believe they do not have the capacity for awareness of sexual
motivation & it seems like a gross mislabeling of the behavior and an
overreaction," said Feinberg.
The school declined ABC News' request for an interview, but said in a
statement that a "misunderstanding" led the principal to call the
police, and that "the police never spoke to the child and no
disciplinary action was taken by the administration."
According to the state's Department of Education, 166 elementary
students were suspended in Maryland last year for sexual harassment,
including three preschoolers, 16 kindergartners and 22 first-graders.
In Virginia, 255 elementary students were suspended for offensive sexual
touching last year as well.
Two years ago in Texas, a four-year-old was punished for sexual
harassment after a teacher's aide accused the pre-schooler of pressing
his face into her breasts during a hug.
While a school's priority is to keep kids safe, critics argue the
"zero-tolerance" policies can mean zero discretion.
"Overwhelming research suggests that "zero-tolerance" is not effective
and often engenders more bad behavior," said Feinberg.
Randy's school has told ABC News that this won't be going on his
permanent record, but for Randy's mom, his childhood innocence has been
changed forever.
"They are treating him like a teenager or a grown-up & He is not. He is
just a child," said Claudia Castro.
Child sex offenders do exist. A Justice Department survey says that kids
aged 7-11 were responsible for almost 4 percent of all the sexual
assaults committed in the U.S. The question is whether some of the kids
being slapped with these sexual harassment labels deserve them.
Let GMA know what you think and weigh in with your thoughts on our
comment board.
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