It’s been a problem since schools were founded: Misbehaving children have caused serious problems for other children, whether it’s bullying with fists or words.

In order to combat this threat to productive education, schools have resorted to detention, suspensions and corporal punishment.

School discipline policy emphasizes deterrence and rehabilitation for any infraction. Being a school, it is important to educate children on how to behave properly and why, said Dr. Paul Beilfuss, superintendant of School District 428.

The district institutes a uniform discipline policy for every school. According to the elementary school handbook, punishments are distributed based on severity of the offense, its location, and whether it has been a repeat offense. This process is designed to ensure punishment policy stays in the hands of the school board and not at the individual discretion of teachers.

When a child commits a minor first offense, students must meet with a teacher after a call home. If the infraction is more severe, a time-out or noon detention is given. For more extreme cases, a suspension can be issued, said Little John Elementary School principal Charlotte Kreuder.

At least one parent is having difficulty with the current system of discipline. Jen Krull, a parent of a kindergarten student at Tyler Elementary School, feels teachers are spending too much time disciplining to make effective teachers. But when teachers do discipline students, they handle it appropriately, she said.

Tyler Elementary principal Bob Palmer said with few exceptions, overall discipline is excellent. In the last 10 years we’ve had very few complaints from parents, he said.

The success is the result of a proactive policy to set standards for students and place those with reoccurring problems into counseling, Kreuder said. Finding the source of the problem often helps the problem disappear.

Krull also said a mentally handicapped mother was acting violently against her child and another physically handicapped girl. In this instance, Krull felt the school wasn’t acting quickly enough to stop the abuse.

When dealing with mentally and physically handicapped children, the punishment does differ, but generally the standards stay the same, Palmer said. Allowing poor behavior from one child and not another creates a double standard that would create more problems.