The zero tolerance policy has become a national controversy regarding the hard, proven facts that it criminalizes children and appears to catch children who have no intention of harm. However, there is substantial evidence proving that policies in many schools have gone far beyond the extreme in condemning children for wrongdoing. Punishments for wrongdoing have reached devastating levels and have steered students in the wrong direction. Despite the opinions of administrators and parents, as well as evidence showing that zero-tolerance policies have deterred violence in many public and private schools, the sentencing and punishment rules are unreasonable and should be changed. Lawmakers and school officials have been tiresome in efforts to find policy that helps make our schools a safer place for students and administrators. Schools, both public and private, are an environment of learning and enjoyable experiences that a child or adolescent will remember for the rest of their life. However, experiences such as the Columbine High School massacres are not what an individual would want to remember and are one of the most important elements of execution when it comes to all austere policies. Zero tolerance was first introduced by the Toma 2 administration of President Ronald Reagan as part of the implementation of the War on Drugs. Several schools have adopted this policy as a way to deter drugs on their campuses. However, when the policy became law when the Drug-Free Schools and Campuses Act of 1989 was passed by Congress (Wattleton). Over countless years, hundreds of schools began adopting this policy as part of their regulations for punishing a student. The...... middle of paper...... Inc., 2009. 254. Print.Kajs, Lawrence. “Education Research Quarterly.” Academic Prime Minister. Np, June 2006. Web. April 12, 2011.Lorenz, Aaron. “Public integrity”. 12.3 (2010): n. page. Internet. April 10, 2011. Shelden, Randall. Schools as “day prisons” and “zero tolerance” policies. Boston: 2009. 289-91. Print.Toma 9Skiba, Russell. Zero tolerance, zero proof. 1st ed. Indiana: Brown, 2000. eBook. Stovall, David and Natalia Delgado. “New directions for youth development”. 2.125 August 2009. 67-81. EBSCO host.Database. February 27, 2011. Wattie, Chris. "Water balloon hijackings result in assault charge; teacher 'was wet'." National Post. Canwest, July 24, 2001.Web. April 5, 2011. Wattleton, Alyce. “Zero Tolerance – Further Reading.” American law and legal information. Net Industries, 2011.Web. April 18 2011.