By OPR's Jo Ingles
Some high school students in Central Ohio are protesting the zero tolerance policy now in place in schools throughout the state. And the states are taking their message to the Ohio Board of Education.
About two dozen students marched from the Ohio Statehouse to the Ohio Department of Education, protesting a policy they say has gone awry.
The zero tolerance policy dictates schools should not tolerate violence or actions that could lead to violence, such as students bringing guns or knives to school. But Columbus high school student Tavion Scales says students are being suspended for watching a fight.
"They're just sitting there watching a student or say they come late to class, they are getting suspended. You shouldn't be getting suspended for minor things such as those things," Scales says.
Organizers of this rally say black students and pupils with disabilities are much more likely to be expelled under the zero tolerance policy. The group wants the state to revisit its discipline policies for Ohio's schools.