As for the state Department of Education, it firmly supports zero-tolerance policies.

The school has a zero-tolerance policy to bullying.

A zero-tolerance policy is already in place, she said, as is a civil rights program considered the most progressive in the nation.

The Fire Department has what officials call a "zero-tolerance policy" toward drugs.

A zero-tolerance policy by the finance houses backed up with random testing is long overdue.

Yet as the misuse of zero-tolerance policies makes clear, panicky school officials often do not make this distinction.

There is a zero-tolerance policy on drink driving.

A league in suburban Chicago has a zero-tolerance policy against yelling.

Little evidence supports the claimed effectiveness of zero-tolerance policies.

Another criticism of zero-tolerance policies is that it gives officers and the legal system little discretion in dealing with offenders.