Is Out-of-School Suspension a constructive punishment? Some students would argue that it’s not. OSS is not only extreme for many of the offenses it’s assigned to, but it is often responsible for making things worse than they already were by taking students out of the classroom.     
     Normal suspensions range from 2-10 days depending on the degree of the punishable act. Missing anything greater than three days results in having to take all exams, but even missing fewer than four days will cause a student to fall very far behind.
     Some of the situations in which suspension is utilized are much too harmless to elicit OSS, a punishment that can cause real problems. Things like skipping class and failure to relinquish electronic devices should not be punishable by suspension.
     Crimes should be dealt with through the appropriate legal procedures, not OSS. Things that are illegal such as possession of drugs, extortion, assault and unlawful possession of weapons, should be taken to a more appropriate court setting and dealt with through legal means. If a student is sentenced to punishment outside of school, continued school attendance is likely to be made impossible anyway.
     Aside from the academic deterioration and the lack of adult supervision or professional support, the reasons students are getting in trouble are the students themselves. Whether or not OSS is an appropriate punishment shouldn’t be based on “one-size-fits-all,” but rather the situation and the individual.
     Some students may be causing trouble and acting out because they really don’t care and OSS is more like a vacation than a disciplinary measure. If a student is repeating disruptive behavior or shows a blatant apathetic attitude towards his or her education then the most convincing way to punish them would not be to send them home, but to put them in an environment where they’re forced to work, maybe even extra work, something they absolutely hate.
     Some students may be acting out for a reason. Even if it’s the wrong way to go about it, causing trouble can just be an effect of a plethora of other stresses piling up on their shoulders. The added stress of a suspension can not only predispose the student to more high-risk behaviors and problems, but can bring about more issues within an already troubled home environment.
     The threat of OSS and all the problems that come with it (trouble with parents, loss of privileges, college applications, school work, exam exemptions) is enough to elicit good behavior from those who really care.
     But OSS really is over-the-top for many of the offences it’s assigned to, and more appropriate disciplinary measures should be constructed and applied.