Zero-tolerance policies in the United States became widespread in 1994, after federal legislation required states to expel for one year any student who brought a firearm to school, or lose all federal funding. These policies are promoted as preventing drug abuse and violence in schools.

How did zero tolerance policies start?

The term originated during the Reagan era during which the federal Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986 was signed into law as a response to the War on Drugs. The law imposed new mandatory minimum sentences for drug offenders changing a rehabilitative system into a punitive system.

Are zero tolerance policies common?

According to USA Today, 87 percent of public schools now have a zero-tolerance policy that requires suspension or expulsion for all types of alcohol and drug infractions – no matter how small the offense might be. Even more schools, 91 percent, have similar policies in place for students who bring weapons to school.