One of the main concerns is that by removing students from school, districts are preparing their students for failure... missing instruction time because of behavior issues often does not solve the behavior issue while also creating a potential an academic one . Furthermore, "zero tolerance" policies often result in victims of a bully, or those defending themselves from attack being suspended along with the bully or attacker.
Another issues is that suspension has often become the first reaction to an issue instead of the last, causing minor infractions to be grouped together with more serious offenses, "When we can't tell the difference between a serious problem and a non-serious problem with a kid in school, the problem is not the kid: It is us," said Michael Gilbert, who heads the San Antonio-based National Association of Community and Restorative Justice, which advocates a focus on dialogue instead of punishments. Progressive school districts across the country have started to institute these restorative practices mentioned by Gilbert in an effort to get to the root of the behavior rather than just punishing it. So far these programs have been successful. Suspensions in some districts are down while academic scores are up for many of the so-called "disruptive" students.