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SCHOOL DISCIPLINE PLAN UPDATED

The policy focuses on curbing alcohol and drug abuse and has drawn controversy for provisions in a tentative version, which linked disciplinary action to the loss of extracurricular activities.

Aimed mostly at high school students, the policy is unique in that it tries to oversee student behavior both during school hours and during off-hours, hence its 24/7 designation.

A tentative version of the policy, featuring a range of counseling, community service and lost activities privileges for offending students, was adopted by the school board in early spring to tide the district over until the end of the school year.  The policy was extended at a June school board meeting to cover the time period until October, when a final version would be put in place, O'Brien explained.

"I was charged with some final revisions which have been made, and at the August board meeting we will be posting it for public review and then we're going to see if we can get the board to vote on it in October," O'Brien said.

O'Brien declined to go into detail about what his revisions entail, saying it would be inappropriate to disclose such details until their formal presentation before the school board.

"In some ways it's gotten a little softer; in some ways it's gotten a little tougher," he said.  "It's been massaged both ways."

O'Brien, who had spent months attending meeting with parents, students, and various borough stakeholders, had become convinced early on in his new role as Haddonfield schools superintendent that the times demanded such a policy.

However, O'Brien's proposal for such a policy met with some resistance from parents, who expressed concerns about a public sector institution assuming the right to exact discipline over their children when they are not in school.

O'Brien noted that drug and alcohol abuse during extra-curricular activities by an offending student, even if such activities occur off school grounds, can adversely affect other students, and the negative effects can be carried over into the school Others complained O'Brien's tentative policy would disproportionately affect those active in extra-curricular activities, and still others complained that the policy offered little more than a succession of "wrist-slapping" for repeat offenders.

"This is not about punishment or retribution," O'Brien said of his revised policy.  "This is about dialogue and holding everyone accountable for their actions.  To me, it's important to be consistent with the dialogue whenever these incidents occur."