5312.1R

DRUG & ALCOHOL ABUSE REGULATION

Primary Prevention

The intent of primary prevention programming is to prevent or delay the onset of alcohol and/or other substance use by students. The components of this programming shall include:

1. A sequential K12 prevention curriculum that provides for:

a. Accurate and age appropriate information about alcohol and other substances, including the physical, psychological and social consequences for their use/abuse.

b. Information about the relationship of alcohol and other substance use/abuse to other health?compromising behaviors or illnesses such as HIV and AIDS, teenage pregnancy, eating disorders, child abuse, suicide, and dropping out of school.

c. Helping students develop appropriate life skills to resist the use of alcohol and other substances and to promote healthy life styles.

d. Helping students identify personal risk factors for alcohol and other substance use/abuse and the steps needed for risk reduction.

e. Helping students develop a positive self?concept.

f. Helping students identify when they are under stress and how to manage or reduce such stress through non?chemical means.

2. Training school staff, parents and guardians to use the information and skills necessary to reinforce the components of this policy and regulation in the home, school and community.

3. Providing parents with information relative to District Health Education/Drug Abuse Prevention programming through the JCB and EJD Newsletters and Parent Organizational Meetings.

4. Community education about the issues of alcohol and other substance use/abuse as a basis for providing a consistent message to district youth. The medium for this education will be in parent workshops on drugs/alcohol prevention and abuse presented at the Health Fair that is coordinated by the Community Services.

5. Positive alternatives to alcohol and other substance use/abuse, i.e.; SADD and Peer Leaders Program. Besides these programs, each secondary school provides a wide range of clubs and activities that reinforce positive peer relationships and offer alternatives to drug use and abuse. These alternatives include intramurals, interscholastic sports, music, performing arts, student government and many more.

Curriculum

The five (5) major responsibilities found under the substance use/abuse policy beliefs will be handled in a comprehensive, continual integration of a well designed curriculum. The curriculum planning committee will expand, update and improve the health education curriculums, through collaborative efforts with a drug intervention specialist and other health related services.

A review of current education programs and resources in the district will help eliminate gaps, and eliminate the necessity of redeveloping already existing programs, resources and services.

Intervention

The intent of intervention programming is to eliminate any existing use/abuse of alcohol and other substances, and to identify and provide supportive services to kindergarten through 12th grade students at high risk for such use/abuse. The components of such programming shall include:

1. providing alcohol and other substance use/abuse assessment and counseling services for students;

2. a referral process from district schools to community providers;

3. identifying and referring students to appropriate agencies, such as County of Oswego Council on Alcoholism and Abuse (COCOAA), when their use/abuse of alcohol and/or other substances requires counseling and or treatment;

4. providing appropriate confidential services to students in or returning from treatment to ensure that the school environment supports the process of recovery initiated in the treatment program;

5. providing individual, group, and family counseling targeted at students at high risk for alcohol and/or other substance use/abuse;

6. educating parent(s) or guardian(s) on when and how to access the district's, and community’s intervention services; and

7. ensuring confidentiality as required by federal and state law.

Information about drug and alcohol counseling and/or rehabilitation programs shall be made available to students. With parental consent, Guidance Counselors may refer students with a substance use/abuse problem to professional health agencies, private practitioners and/or support groups.

Disciplinary Measures

A student found to be in violation of district policy by their possession, distribution, use, or being under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs, or their possession of drug paraphernalia, shall be appropriately disciplined using the specified procedures and consequences listed below.

Penalties

I. A first offense for a student who engages in the possession, distribution, or being under the influence of alcohol and/or other substance(s), or who is found in possession of drug paraphernalia, on school grounds at a school-sponsored activity or in a school district vehicle shall require the following penalty:

A. If the first offense occurs during the instructional day or at a school-sponsored activity, the student’s parent(s)/guardian(s) will be contacted and directed to remove their son/daughter from school or the activity for the balance of the day or that activity.

B. The student will be suspended from school for five (5) school days and from extracurricular activities for a period of (70) calendar days, excluding the days between July 1st and August 31st, starting on the calendar day after the violation. This extracurricular suspension includes participation in all extracurricular activities and groups such as bands, choirs, drama groups, language groups and trips sponsored by such groups, all athletic participation and cheerleading, as well as school social activities including, but not limited to, dances, class trips, and proms, etc. Only those activities directly related to the granting of credit will be permitted.

C. Prior to a student returning to school from the five (5) school day suspension, a parent/guardian-student conference will be held with the Principal or his/her designee.

D. The seventy (70) calendar day suspension from extracurricular activities and groups may be reduced to no fewer than thirty-five (35) calendar days if the student can produce proof of completion of an approved drug counseling or approved substance abuse rehabilitation program that he/she enrolled in and completed at some time after the violation.

II. A second offense for a student who engages in the possession, distribution or being under the influence of alcohol and/or other substance(s), or who is found in possession of drug paraphernalia on school grounds, at a school-sponsored activity or in a school district vehicle shall require the following penalty:

A. If the second offense occurs during the instructional day or at a school-sponsored activity, the student's parent(s)/guardian(s) will be contacted and directed to remove their son/daughter from school or the activity for the balance of the day or that activity.

B. The student will be suspended from school for five (5) school days and from extracurricular activities for a period of (140) calendar days excluding the days between July 1st and August 31st, starting on the calendar day after the violation. This extracurricular suspension includes participation in all extracurricular activities and groups such as bands, choirs, drama groups, language groups and trips sponsored by such groups, all athletic participation and cheerleading, as well as school social activities including, but not limited to, dances, class trips, and proms, etc. The Principal may request a Superintendent’s Hearing if he/she feels that more than five days of suspension appear necessary due to his/her concern for the health and safety of that student or other students in the school. The Superintendent may recommend restricted instruction and/or placement in alternative instruction at any time.

C. Prior to a student returning to school after their suspension, a parent/guardian-student conference will be held with the Principal, or his/her designee.

III. A third and/or subsequent offenses for a student who engages in the possession, distribution or being under the influence of alcohol and/or other substance(s), or who is found in possession of drug paraphernalia on school grounds, at a school-sponsored activity or in a school district vehicle shall require the following penalty:

A. If the third offense occurs during the instructional day or at a school-sponsored activity, the student's parent(s)/guardian(s) will be contacted and directed to remove their son/daughter from school or the activity for the balance of the day or that activity.

B. The student will be suspended from school for five school days. The student will be declared permanently ineligible to participate in any and all extracurricular activities associated with the Phoenix Central School District. This extracurricular suspension includes participation in all extracurricular activities and groups such as bands, choirs, drama groups, language groups and trips sponsored by such groups, all athletic participation and cheerleading, as well as school social activities including, but not limited to, dances, and proms, etc. The Principal may request a Superintendent’s Hearing if he/she feels that more than five days of suspension appear necessary due to his/her concern for the health and safety of that student or other students in the school. The Superintendent may recommend restricted instruction and/or placement in alternative instruction at any time.

C. Prior to a student returning to school after their suspension, a parent/guardian-student conference will be held with the Principal, or his/her designee.

Note: In addition to the penalties noted in sections I and II above, district officials will be obligated to contact the police and advise them that a student had used, possessed, sold or distributed alcohol or other substances on school grounds, at a school-sponsored activity or in a school district vehicle.

IV. A student who self-refers to a school faculty member or a parent for assistance in dealing with their alcohol and/or other substance use/abuse prior to an identified violation of this regulation shall be entitled to the following:

If a student self-refers for assistance in dealing with his/her chemical use, he/she will be referred to support services. Amnesty from discipline will continue as long as a student follows his/her recommended intervention program. If that student does not follow the intervention program, he/she will be subject to the provisions of this regulation regarding suspension from extracurricular activities.

The offenses set forth in this regulation will be documented cumulatively throughout the time a child attends the district.

Students who are disciplined for any of these infractions will be strongly encouraged to participate in the intervention services established by Board policy.

Staff Development

There shall be ongoing training of district staff about the components of effective alcohol and other substance abuse prevention programs. Training shall include, but is not limited to, district policies and regulations and the staff’s role in implementing such policies and regulations. Teachers shall be trained to implement the district’s K-12 alcohol and other substance prevention curricula. Intervention staff shall be suitably trained to carry out appropriate services.

Implementation, Dissemination, and Monitoring

The Board charges the Superintendent to collaborate with district staff, parent(s) or guardian(s), students, community members, organizations and agencies, including alcohol and other substance abuse service providers, in developing the specific programs and strategies necessary to implement Board policy.

Upon adoption, copies of Board policy and this regulation will be distributed to and reviewed with all district staff, students, and parent(s) or guardian(s) and will be disseminated to the community through its organizations.

The Superintendent is responsible for providing the Board with an annual review of this policy and regulation, the programs and strategies implementing it, and his or her recommendations for revisions.

Adoption: January 13, 2002
Effective: January 13, 2002

Reviewed: July 14, 2008

APPENDIX A

GLOSSARY OF TERMS

Alcohol

Alcohol is an addictive depressant drug that affects the central nervous system. The chemical compound ethyl alcohol has the same sedative effect as tranquilizers and sleeping pills, and is toxic.

Designer Drug

A designer drug is an analog to a known illegal drug. Since illegal drugs are defined in terms of their chemical formulas, underground chemists may modify the molecular structure of an illegal drug to produce a chemically similar legal substance known as a designer drug. These drugs can be several hundred times stronger than drugs they are designed to imitate with very serious side effects including brain damage from as little as one dose.

Drug Paraphernalia

Drug paraphernalia includes, but is not limited to, the following objects:

1. hypodermic syringes, needles, or similar objects used or designed to inject substances into the human body; and

2. pipes or other objects used or designed to ingest, inhale, or otherwise introduce into the body marijuana, cocaine, hashish, hashish oil, or other substances.

Substances

Substances are any chemicals that, when introduced into the body, produce a biological, psychological, physiological, or sociological change.

School Grounds

School grounds include all property owned or leased by the school district, such as school buildings and grounds, school buses and other vehicles. Hence, any event occurring in a school bus or other district vehicle will be considered to have occurred on school grounds.

APPENDIX B

CONFIDENTIALITY OF ALCOHOL AND DRUG ABUSE PATIENT RECORDS

The confidentiality of alcohol and drug abuse patient records maintained by this program is protected by federal law and regulations. Generally, the program may not disclose to a person outside the program that a patient attends a program, or disclose any information identifying a patient as an alcohol or drug abuser unless:

1. the patient consents in writing; or

2. the disclosure is permitted by a court order; or

3. the disclosure is made to medical personnel in a medical emergency or to qualified personnel for research, audit, or program evaluation; or

4. the patient commits or threatens to commit a crime either at the program or against any person who works for the program.

Violation of the federal law and regulations by a program is a crime. Suspected violations may be reported to the United States Attorney in the district where the violation occurs.

Federal law and regulations do not protect any information about suspected child abuse or neglect from being reported under state law to appropriate state or local authorities.

Cross-ref: 4317, Teaching About Drugs, Alcohol, Tobacco