Indeed it was, and I was in school when it became that broad. I even wrote about it in the school newspaper. But I still have not heard of a school that says "You used alcohol over the weekend in an activity that we agree is completely unrelated to school, so we will expel you."
Good ones. Also search for: The suit was based on a claim by sophomore Blake Robbins that school officials reprimanded him for “improper behavior” based on photos the [school issued] computer secretly took of the boy at home last fall.
Granted it's not zero tolerance because he wasn't expelled.
Lets be clear: neither of those stories do what I said.
I'm not, and never was, happy with the overreaching disciplinary actions taken by school systems. I think it tends to be reactionary and counter-productive. But your claims are still not accurate. While I disagree with the policies, and I think they are bad, they are as bad as your claims.
"In recent years, public schools have been disciplining students for the trouble they get into away from campus. Many schools suspend or expel students who are involved in any kind of violence. And some districts have expanded their involvement to misdeeds surrounding the things kids say online or drug arrests."
That's pretty close to what you say. Of course you set out an impossible claim of the school stating that it has "nothing to do with school." The argument from the school system in cases like these is roughly that out-of-school behavior has an impact on the school, so all behavior can be punished by the school system.
Other school districts can and have applied their codes of conduct to non-school related activities.