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.''