WATERVILLE, ME 04901
ALCOHOL, TOBACCO AND OTHER DRUGS
POLICY
I.
PHILOSOPHY
The Waterville Public School System is committed
to developing and implementing programs related to the use and abuse of
controlled and/or illegal substances.
Recognizing that all students, faculty and staff may be adversely affected it is
imperative that the Waterville Public Schools engage in a variety of activities
and strategies designed to promote and/or model positive behaviors while
educating all as to the adverse consequences associated with the inappropriate
or illegal use of such substances. The Waterville Public School System is
dedicated to providing a safe, healthy, productive learning environment free from
alcohol, tobacco and illegal substances.
Accomplishing this goal requires a cooperative effort among school
staff, students, parents, law enforcement, and organizations concerned with the
healthy development of all students entrusted into our care.
The
Waterville Public School System actively promotes safety and wellness
throughout our school system.
The Waterville Public School System will assist students
and parents to become more knowledgeable about the dangers associated with the
use of various substances. To
promote a quality-learning environment, the System endorses an approach to (1)
prevent, discourage and eliminate drug use by students by addressing prevention
by education, (2) intervene with an emphasis on assessment and treatment and (3)
discipline.
II.
POLICY
While on
school property, while on a school sponsored activity or while that personŐs
conduct directly interferes with the operation, welfare or educational
environment of any school within the system, no student shall:
á
possess,
use or distribute cigarettes, chewing tobacco, ŇsnuffÓ or other tobacco
products
á
illegally
posses, use, distribute or be under the influence of any alcoholic beverage,
malt beverage, fortified wine, or other intoxicating liquor
á
possess,
use, distribute or be under the influence of any narcotic drug, hallucinogenic
drug, amphetamine, barbiturate, marijuana, inhalants, drug paraphernalia, anabolic
steroid, any other controlled substance, any look-alike substance that is
represented to be a controlled substance.
Students
involved with athletic or co-curricular activities refer also to Section VI.
It is not a violation for a student to be in the possession
of a legally defined drug specifically prescribed for the studentŐs own use by
any person legally authorized to prescribe drugs.
III. PROCEDURE FOR
STUDENTS
Students
found to be in violation of this policy with respect to tobacco products shall
be exposed to the following sanctions:
First Offense: a.
Any related materials will be confiscated,
b.
Parents/guardians will
be notified,
c.
School Resource Officer
or local law enforcement will be notified,
d.
The school will provide
student and parents/guardians with referral information regarding local tobacco
cessation programs.
e.
The student will be
suspended for two schools days.
The suspension will be reduced to one day of in-house suspension, if the
student agrees to participate in an administrator approved education /
cessation program.
For
purposes of this policy, in- house suspension is defined as a one-on-one or
small group setting where the student will have necessary academic support,
along with education components about the risks of substance abuse, but will
not be allowed to socialize with peers for the entire school day.
Second Offense:
In
addition to sanctions a., b., c., and d. listed above under First Offense there
shall be added:
e. The student will be suspended for four school days. The suspension will be reduced to two
days of in-house suspension, if the student agrees to participate in an administrator
approved education / cessation program.
Third Offense:
In
addition to sanctions a., b., c., and d. listed above under First Offense there
shall be added:
e. The student will be suspended for six school days. The suspension will be reduced to 4
days, if the student agrees to complete ten hours of community service. These
hours shall not fulfill any additional requirements, graduation or otherwise.
Students
found to be in violation of this policy with respect to alcohol or controlled
or illegal substances shall be exposed to the following sanctions:
First
Offense:
a.
Any
related materials will be confiscated,
b.
Parents/guardians
will be notified,
c.
School
Resource Officer or local law enforcement will be notified,
d.
The student will be
suspended for four school days.
The suspension will be reduced to two days of in-house suspension, if
the student agrees to participate in an administrator approved education /
intervention program.
Second Offense:
In addition to sanctions
a., b., c., and d. listed above under First Offense there shall be added
e. The student will be
suspended for six school days. The
suspension will be reduced to four days of in-house suspension, if the student
can provide evidence or proof of having consulted with a health care provider,
regarding the studentŐs use or possession of the prohibited substance.
Third Offense:
In addition to sanctions
a., b., c., and d. listed above under First Offense there shall be added:
e. The student will be
suspended for ten school days. At
the discretion of the Building Administrator, if the student provides evidence
of having consulted with a health care provider regarding the studentŐs current
use of the prohibited substance, the suspension will be reduced to six days of
in-house suspension if the student agrees to follow the recommendation of the
health care provider and also agrees to complete twenty hours of community
service. These hours shall not
fulfill any additional requirements, graduation or otherwise.
f.
The student will be referred to the Superintendent; under certain conditions,
the Superintendent may request a more in-depth meeting with the studentŐs
parent or legal guardian and/or nurse or counselor. The Superintendent may set a re-entry plan that must be
followed prior to the student returning to school,
g. The
student and parents or legal guardian may be required to appear before the
Waterville Board of Education for an expulsion hearing.
IV.
REFERRAL PROCEDURES
The
following procedures are intended to assist any student who may be affected
directly of indirectly with alcohol, tobacco and other drugs. The students should feel safe coming
forward with his/her concerns. All
referrals will be processed through the School Nurse/Substance Abuse Counselor
or designated staff member who will maintain confidentiality while providing
assistance, help with community referrals to appropriate treatment/intervention
programs, and be responsible for general education of students on the dangers
associated with drug use.
Student
Assistance is the goal. District
staff needs to inform students that disclosing information about a peer is
actually helpful. The important
message is that it is not okay to use; but if someone needs help, it is safe to
seek that help.
Self-referral:
a.
A
student who believes that he or she has a substance abuse problem may contact
the substance abuse counselor, school nurse, or other designated person to get
help.
c.
A self-referral
will not prevent disciplinary action based on a report from a source other than
the student, which leads to the discovery of a violation.
Community
Referral:
V. Distribution
or sale of alcohol or other drugs
Distribution
or sale of alcohol, drugs or other controlled or illegal substance(s) will
result in a referral to the Superintendent of School for appropriate action.
VI. Co/Extra-Curricular
Activity
Any student participating in any extra-curricular activities
(athletic or non-athletic) shall not use, possess, buy, sell, or give away
alcohol, tobacco products, marijuana, or any other substance defined by law as
a drug or look-alike drug (regardless of the quantity). It is not a violation for a student to
be in the possession of a legally defined drug specifically prescribed for the
studentŐs own use by any person legally authorized to prescribe drugs.
Participants
in all athletic or extra-curricular activities will follow the Waterville
Public School procedures regarding signing contracts. Contracts will continue to be in effect throughout the
studentŐs first athletic or extra-curricular contract and will remain in effect
throughout that academic year. If the student is not currently participating in
an athletic activity at the time of the offense, any penalty will be served
during the next athletic activity that the student participates in.
*Violations will be accumulated within one school such that
when a student changes schools (s) he starts with a clean slate, except that sanctions
from other schools currently being served will be enforced. Exceptions may be made for junior high
students transitioning into Waterville Senior High School at the discretion of
both junior high and Waterville Senior High School Administrators.
*Law enforcement will be notified of all illegal activity.
*The sanction applies to all activities in which the student
is involved.
*Any athlete who is a team captain, found to be in violation
of this policy, will lose their captainŐs position.
First
Offense: (alcohol, marijuana,
tobacco products and other drugs)
The student will be suspended from all activities
athletic/non-athletic or both, whichever the case may be, for one calendar year
from date of offense, unless the student agrees to:
Attend an administrator-approved program. Participation in
the appropriate program will reduce their penalty to a 20% suspension for
athletics and twenty hours of community service for non-athletic activities,
half of which must be completed before participation of any public performance
or activity.
For athletes, the 20% suspension will be defined as 20% of
Maine PrincipalsŐ Association (M.P.A.) countable games. The season ending
banquet will be considered an M.P.A. countable game for purpose of serving a
penalty but not for computation of the 20% penalty. Athletes may not return to any competition until the 20%
M.P.A. game suspensions have been met.
Students must agree, in writing, to attend the next scheduled
administrator approved program.
The 20% suspension must be served immediately. If the date of the next available administrator approved
program is known and this date conflicts with scheduled games, adjustments may
be made to the order of suspended games, so that the athlete is not penalized
more than 20%. Athletes will be
required to practice and travel with the team during this suspension but shall
be out of uniform.
For non-athletics, the student must complete twenty hours of
approved community service, half of which (ten hours) must be completed before
any public performance.
EXAMPLE for athletic activities:
Varsity basketball has 18 countable games x .20 = 3.6, or 4
games suspension (Round up or down to the nearest whole number.) A violation occurs before and two games
of suspension are served then.
During all subsequent Christmas tournament games the suspension is still
active, thus, the athlete is still ineligible to participate. After Christmas break, the last two
countable games are served and the game suspension is over.
Second
Offense: (alcohol, marijuana,
tobacco products and other drugs)
The student
will be suspended from all activities athletic/non-athletic or both, whichever
the case may be, for one calendar year from date of offense, unless the student
agrees to:
A. An evaluation from a health care
provider, which will be paid for by the student-athlete or his/her parent or
legal guardian. In cases of
serious financial hardship to the student or the studentŐs family, WPS may
arrange for the evaluation at the schools expense. The student must follow the recommendation of the counselor.
B. A Community service obligation of 45
hours. (This must be completed
prior to regaining eligibility).
C. Drug testing for the remainder of
his/her career at WSHS. All tests will be paid for by the student-athlete or
his/her parent or legal guardian.
In cases of serious financial hardship to the student or the studentŐs
family, WPS may arrange for the testing at the schools expense.
Provided
that steps A-C have been followed, the penalty will be reduced to 95 school
days for all activities.
Third
Offense: (alcohol, marijuana,
tobacco products and other drugs)
The student
will be suspended from all activities athletic/non-athletic or both, whichever
the case may be, for the remainder of their career at the school the student
attended at the time of the offense.
After two calendar years, an appeal may be made to the Building
Administration for reinstatement.
VII. COMMUNICATION OF POLICY
This policy
shall be printed in student handbooks. Acknowledgment of review and an understanding of this policy
shall be signed by parents/legal guardians on the emergency card and returned
to the school where they shall be kept on file by the school unit. Tobacco free signs will be posted at all
entrances of school buildings, school playgrounds and athletic fields and
announcements of our drug free campus will be made at the beginning of each
event.
ADOPTED: September 12, 1988; REVISED: October 5, 1992; REVISED: February 27, 1995; REVISED: February 5, 1996; REVISED: April 8, 1996; REVISED: January 30, 2004; REVISED: March 6, 2006.
REVISED: October 16,
2006
LEGAL REFERENCE: Federal
Law: Pro-Children
Act of 1994; Maine Law: 22 M.R.S.A. 1578-B; 22 M.R.S.A. 1551-1559;
SOURCE: Board Policy