RE: Girl Arrested For Writing On Desktop

I don't think it fits in the context of a "broken windows" policy unless you are using a "broken windows" policy for school discipline. That would be a good thing, but schools are almost refusing to discipline over anything. Then one of two things happen: (1) you have a brawl like the one at Milwaukee Tech back in January or (2) educrats overreacting to a simple disciplinary situation by calling the police to arrest students for simply misbehaving.

I would expect police to be called in case of a weapons violation — a real one, not some kid bringing the plastic knife for his lunch. I would expect police to be called in case of a drug bust or a sexual assault, but not for violations of the school code of conduct.

The proper action here, much like the recent case when students as a prank put a laxative in some donuts, would have been to have the student or students spend time cleaning every classroom in the school on their lunch breaks and after school and assign some detention time. Maybe ISS for repeat violators. Students don't need to be perp-walked out of the school when they break school rules. If a principal feels the need to do that to "send a message," that principal and the teachers have lost control of that school long before that point.

No message will be effective.