Cursing is costly at two schools

[Amelia]

Cursing is costly at two schools

Thu Dec 15, 2005

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Students at two Connecticut schools can either watch their language or watch their money disappear.

In an effort to curb abusive language directed at school faculty, Bulkeley High School and Hartford Public High School has instituted fines for students who use foul language.

Police officers stationed in the schools issue $103 tickets to students who curse, said Miriam Morales-Taylor, principal of Bulkeley High School in Hartford, Connecticut. The citations are similar to speeding tickets and require a court appearance if the fine is not paid, Morales-Taylor said. The official charge is creating a public disturbance.

"It is issued for a breach of peace -- we only use it when the student is disrupting to the staff member using really abusive language," Morales-Taylor said.

About 20 tickets have been issued at Bulkeley since the policy was instituted in November, she said. The school has over 1,600 students.

Hartford Public High School, which has about 1,400 students according to its Web site, has instituted a similar policy.

Morales-Taylor said the system seems to be working.

"It makes a big difference -- it is very quiet now," she said. "This afternoon a student was in my office and said that he had gotten a ticket, and then he said that he would never use profanities again."