Pubdate: Sat, 7 Feb 2004 Source: Pueblo Chieftain (CO) Copyright: 2004 The Star-Journal Publishing Corp. Contact: http://www.chieftain.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1613 Author: Gayle Perez Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?225 (Students - United States) D70 EXPELS 29 STUDENTS FOR DRUG USE District 70 Has Expelled 29 Students For Drug Violations This School Year, Compared To Only Two Expulsions For District 60. We've had a rough first semester," said Greg Keasling, District 70's director of pupil personnel. "Drugs, by far, are the biggest problem. Not only are they readily accessible, but there are a lot of kids who have marijuana just given to them. Kids are sharing it a lot more." As of Jan. 20, District 70 has expelled 36 students, the same number it expelled all of the previous school year. District 60 had 17 expulsions or exclusions (special education students) through Jan. 27. Last year, there were 30 students expelled for the year. Both districts are bracing for an increase in numbers this spring, as has been the trend the past few years. "We always have more in the spring because by then you start getting more of the habitually disruptive students," Keasling said. Keasling acknowledges that the district's zero tolerance for drugs has pushed the expulsion rate up. "We expel on a first offense," he said. "We do not offer involuntary transfers or suspensions when it comes to drugs and we've made that very clear to the students." Keasling said the drug policy is probably the reason District 70 expels more students than District 60. "I don't think that we have any more of a problem than they do," he said. "We don't offer a second chance." Rick Macias, District 60's director of pupil personnel, said students who are caught in possession of drugs are expelled. But if they are only discovered under the influence of drugs, they generally have a three-strike rule: suspended temporarily the first time, transferred to another school on second offense, and expelled on third offense. "If we expelled kids on a first offense we would have a lot more," Macias said. Also, Macias said if a student brings drugs to school and distributes them to other students, only the student who provided the drugs is expelled. All others would be suspended. In District 70, Keasling said all students caught with drugs are expelled. In both districts, marijuana is the drug of choice. Macias said both District 60 expulsions this year were for possession of marijuana. Keasling said the majority of his district's 29 drug expulsions were for marijuana, but there also have been students caught with prescription drugs and one with a narcotic. Marijuana "seems to be more available and as result more kids are into using it," Keasling said. "A lot of times the parents don't have any idea their kid is involved with drugs, mainly because kids are so good at being discreet about it. "We also have kids coming to school selling mom and dad's painkillers," he added. "Today, students have a lot more access to drugs." While drugs are the No. 1 cause for expulsion in District 70, possession of weapons is the biggest contributor to District 60's expulsions. As of Jan. 27, 10 students have been expelled for possessing knives. This is despite a huge push by the district to inform students about the consequences of bringing weapons to school. "For whatever reason, students are still bringing them to school," Macias said. "Most said they brought them by accident, and very seldom do we hear that they brought it to school for self-defense. But anytime they get caught with a knife (with a blade at least 2 1/2 inches long), they will be expelled." Macias said the remainder of the expulsions have been three for crimes of violence, two for drug violations and two for assaults on teachers. The crime of violence category includes incidents that occur away from school. Macias said all the students expelled this year have been males, with the majority (13) being in middle school. "There's always quite a few in middle school," he said. "It's a tough time." In District 70, two students have been expelled for carrying knives; three students for making threats toward students or staff; one for putting a foreign substance into another student's drink; and one for being a habitually disruptive student. The threats toward other students involved two separate incidents at Pueblo West High School, where staff members were alerted that students had "hit lists" naming other students. Keasling said 25 expelled students were boys and 11 were girls. The majority (31) were high school students. Macias and Keasling both credit other students with notifying school and law enforcement officials about many of the incidents that have led to expulsions. They said said the Crimestoppers program as well as the school resource officers give students an opportunity to report violations without feeling that they will be retaliated against. Expelled students from both districts are offered alternative educational opportunities. In District 60, they may attend Keating Education Center, while District 70 students may attend the Futures Academy. Both districts expel students for either a semester or a year, depending on the infraction. In District 60, an expelled student must petition to return to his home school when the expulsion term is over. In District 70, the students are automatically admitted back into their high schools. "We tell students that Futures is not a place for bad kids but it is a place to regroup, be held accountable for their actions and to succeed," Keasling said. - -------------------------------------------------------------------------- EXPULSIONS District 60 Year Number 1999-2000 20 2000-2001 38 2001-2002 35 2002-2003 30 2003-2004 17* *As of January 27, 2004 2003-2004 expulsions by grades levels 6th grade 1 7th grade 3 8th grade 9 9th grade 2 10th grade 2 Ethnicity Hispanic 11 White 6 Gender Male 17 Female 0 Type of infractions Weapons offenses 10* Crime of violence 3 Drug violation 2 Assault on a teacher 2 *All knives EXPULSIONS District 70 Year Number 2000-2001 57 2001-2002 35 2002-2003 36 2003-2004 36* *As of January 20, 2004 2003-2004 expulsions by grade levels High School 31 Middle School 5 Ethnicity N/A Gender Male 25 Female 11 Type of infractions Drug violations 29 Weapons 2* Threats, students or staff 3 Foreign substance in a drink 1 Habitually disruptive student 1 *Knives - --- MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin