DRUG POLICY COSTS OCONEE STUDENT

WATKINSVILLE -- The mother of an Oconee County High School student is not
happy about a school system drug policy that dealt her son 10 days of
suspension for possession of the prescription drug Claritin. On Feb. 9,
Oconee high senior Clint Rowland was in class digging through his pocket
for a pen and pulled out a jumble of other objects, including a Claritin
pill, according to his mother, Carrie. Rowland had a prescription for the
medication, which is commonly used for sore throats, headaches and nasal
congestion.

A teacher spotted the pill and turned it over to Principal Sam Marra. Marra
immediately suspended Rowland for 10 days for not having filled out a form
in the school nurse's office stating he would need the medication on school
grounds, Carrie Rowland said.

"Some of these prescription drugs are considered dangerous drugs," Marra
said Monday. "I don't know anything about Claritin, but once it ends up in
somebody's possession, who knows whose hands it's going to end up in. We
just can't have those kinds of drugs floating around our school."
Superintendent Shannon Adams denied Carrie Rowland's plea to reduce the
suspension. She also took the case to Superior Court, unsuccessfully
seeking an injunction to get her son back in school.

Today marks the seventh day of Clint Rowland's suspension. He returns to
school Monday.

Rowland said her son had been sick, and was absent for the two days prior
to the suspension. He took the pill to school, planning to take it later in
the day after finishing after-school pep band and play rehearsals, she
said. "We never said he didn't break the rule," she said. "We just felt the
punishment was a little severe for the offense." Rowland has a 3.5 grade
point average and throughout his school years has been involved in band,
school plays, chess club and a school literary publication.

"He's a good kid," Carrie Rowland said. The high school student handbook
states that students can receive up to 10 days' suspension for any drug
found in their possession on school grounds, with an exception made for
students who plan to use prescription drugs and report that fact to the
nurse's office.

Carrie Rowland felt that because the policy's wording calls for "up to 10
days" of suspension, a lesser punishment could have been allowed for her
son. Marra said Rowland is not the first student suspended for having a
prescription drug on campus.

The policy "pertains to all medications," Marra said, explaining that a
10-day suspension is a uniform punishment given to all students who commit
similar violations. Marra pointed out that students who violate this policy
can make up classwork missed during the suspension.

Adams said the policy would be more stringent in the case of a student
caught with an illegal drug like marijuana. In that instance, a student
could be turned over to police, appear before the school system's
disciplinary tribunal and face possible expulsion.

"There are very clear-cut procedures for handling prescriptions," Adams
said. "It's outlined in the handbook and administrators and teachers go
over the handbook with students at the beginning of the year." School
policy aside, Carrie Rowland just wants her son back in class. "I'm
frustrated," she said. "And I know there's nothing I can do to help my child."