Pubdate: Wed, 13 Aug 2003
Source: Fairbanks Daily News-Miner (AK)
Copyright: 2003 Fairbanks Publishing Company, Inc.
Contact:  http://www.news-miner.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/764
Author: Marmian L. Grimes

SCHOOL BOARD OKS DRUG POLICY CHANGE

The first-offense penalty for middle and high school students caught using
or having drugs or alcohol at school just doubled.

The school board at its Tuesday meeting passed an emergency revision to the
Fairbanks North Star Borough School District's drug and alcohol policy. The
change means first time offenders would face a 10-day suspension rather than
the current five.

Superintendent Ann Shortt said she talked to principals about the increase.
"They really felt that five days was not enough," she said. "I thought that
was a very slight punishment, five days."

In addition, the policy reduces the penalty for refusing to take a
urinalysis. Under the old policy, a student faced up to 90 days for refusal.
Under the new policy, the punishment for refusal mirrors that of having or
using the substances.

Because it is an emergency change, the new policy goes into effect
immediately.

The change comes after a North Pole High School student and his father filed
suit against the school district over its drug and alcohol testing policy,
claiming that its use of rapid eye exams and orders for urinalysis are a
breach of the constitutional protection against unreasonable search and
seizure.

The suit says that the teen was ordered to take a rapid eye exam and then a
urinalysis. When his father refused to have the boy take the latter test,
the suit says he was expelled for the first 90 days of this school year.
That penalty was later reduced to five days.

An attorney hired by the district, in a letter to Shortt, said that the
disparity between the refusal penalty and that of the actual offense of
having drugs or alcohol was likely too great to withstand legal scrutiny.
School board president Bart LeBon said he hasn't heard whether the father
and son intend to drop the lawsuit.

Two people testified against the change at the meeting, while another
applauded the move.

Shortt said Tuesday that she plans to ask the board to appoint a task force
to study the drug and alcohol and discipline policies in the district.

"It has been many years since we have taken a comprehensive look at all of
these policies," she said.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Josh