Pubdate: Thu, 16 May 2002 Source: Daily Press (VA) Copyright: 2002 The Daily Press Contact: http://www.dailypress.com Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/585 Author: Stephanie Barrett Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth) NEW RULE CLAMPS DOWN ON LOOK-ALIKE DRUGS NEWPORT NEWS -- Oregano masquerading as marijuana. Sugar as cocaine. An over-the-counter pill as Ecstasy. A new school system rule in Newport News, approved by the School Board Wednesday night, prohibits the distribution, sale or purchase of any drug look- alike substance. Also, any action that contributes to the possession of any look-alike substance is banned, the new rule says. The School Board agreed to various amendments to its Rights and Responsibility Handbook that ranged from language changes to new disciplinary actions for misrepresentation, which includes lying and cheating. The board annually reviews recommendations to update the handbook from a committee made up of administrators, students and community members. The group met last month to develop its report. Warwick High School Principal Gene Jones, who served as the group's co-chairman, said that the changes to rules don't necessarily mean schools are encountering widespread problems in those areas. "It's not that we are seeing a rash of look-alikes," he said. "It's not that we are seeing a rash of misrepresentation. You have to be ready for changes and be ahead of the curve so when something does happen you'll be ready for it." It's difficult to say how often students are found with look-alike drugs. If it has happened, officials would have logged the incident under an "other" category listed in the handbook, Jones said. He said he believed mostly middle schools might encounter the look-alike drug issue because of the "buyer not being savvy to know what it is and you are presenting it as such. It's the same thing as if it were the real thing," Jones said. "In lower grades, kids who are trying to experiment, unfortunately you might see that." Another change to the handbook involves a wider range of sanctions for fourth-through 12th-graders who violate a rule on misrepresentation. The rule says students will not lie or cheat, for example, by making false statements, written or oral, to anyone of authority. A fourth-through 12-grader used to face a penalty that ranged from a six-to 10-day suspension to expulsion. Now it's intervention to expulsion. Intervention includes such actions as detention, a contract with a student and parent stating how the student will improve his behavior and referral to a counselor. - --- MAP posted-by: Josh