Pubdate: Fri, 19 Dec 2003 Source: Birmingham News, The (AL) Copyright: 2003 The Birmingham News Contact: http://al.com/birminghamnews/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/45 Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topics/zero+tolerance Motrin Moment School Sets Bad Example With Harsh Punishment Sometimes, zero tolerance makes zero sense. A case in point is the suspension handed down recently by Jefferson County school officials to a 15-year-old girl who took a Motrin pill at school to relieve menstrual cramps. The Clay-Chalkville High School sophomore was suspended and assigned to an alternative school for one month for an offense that the student code of conduct classifies as a major drug offense. Major drug offense? For taking Motrin, a common over-the-counter drug for menstrual pain? First, there is no question that what student Ysatis Jones did was wrong. It is a violation of county school policy for any student to possess prescription drugs or any over-the-counter medicine without written approval. Ysatis should have known that; it's in the student handbook. She should have asked to go to the school office for medicine to ease her pain. Schools have good reason to keep a handle on all kinds of drug use on campus. Even over-the-counter medicines can be abused. But a student's punishment ought to fit the crime. In Ysatis' case, one can't help but conclude the punishment was too harsh. She certainly didn't help her cause any by accusing the teacher who reported her of racism. The teacher was just doing her job. Besides, the teacher didn't determine her punishment; that was decided by administrators. And, frankly, they blew it. Too often, it seems, we hear of students suspended or expelled for what seems like minor infractions because school policymakers decided to take a stand against serious offenses and drew a line students shouldn't cross. Sometimes, though, aspirin can be lumped in the same category as Oxycontin, or a student who lets an asthmatic classmate use her inhaler is treated as if she was dealing drugs. Rigid rules that don't allow for reasonable exceptions can do more harm than good. That is not to say Ysatis didn't deserve punishment for violating the school system policy on medicines. She does. But banishment to alternative school with students who have committed more egregious acts is a bit much. It's a shame that someone in the principal's office at Clay-Chalkville or in the school board office didn't see that. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake