The ethics of zero tolerance

“Zero tolerance” has become the international “buzz word” of the secondary building administrator. As school violence has increased so have the legislative and regulatory policy‐making mandates calling for increased disciplinary consequences for inappropriate student behavior. Ethical problem‐solving and decision‐making have taken a back seat to reactive discipline by school officials. Media publicity has forced proactive principals to become reactive impulsive decision‐makers. In this article, Starratt's three‐part model for ethical school administration – encompassing the ethics of critique, justice, and care – is applied to a fictional scenario and the ethical dilemma that evolves. Recommendations for practice are offered in a proposed resolution of the dilemma within the context of a central conclusion: if the school administrator of the twenty‐first century is to build and maintain an ethical educational setting where all students can learn, zero tolerance cannot dictate the only outcomes for inappropriate student behavior.