SCHOOLS VARY ON DRUG-USE PENALTIES

With No Statewide Protocol, Area Districts Differ On Severity

A student who gets caught with alcohol at Irondequoit
High School faces a 20-week suspension. For the same offense at some
other area schools, he or she could be back in class after five days.

The state Department of Education doesn't dictate how districts should
penalize drug and alcohol violations. Local districts have devised
widely differing ways of dealing with youth substance abuse, a problem
that Monroe County Department of Health data show is not getting much
better.

About 10 years ago, the West Irondequoit School District instituted
one of the region's strictest policies -- get caught with drugs or
alcohol, get suspended for 20 weeks. For middle school students, the
penalty is 15 weeks.

"We are very firm," said Superintendent Jeffrey Crane.

Until last summer, state education law prevented the district from
shortening the length of this mandatory suspension if students were
willing to enter treatment and get involved in an intervention process.

The district lobbied for more discretion and in 2006, the law changed,
allowing districts to condition a suspended student's early return to
school on counseling and/or community service.

Now West Irondequoit offers students an option. Those who agree to go
through a rehabilitation process can go back to school after seven
weeks for high school students and five weeks for middle school
students. A student who chooses the intervention route must go through
alcohol and drug counseling and testing. Community service may also be
involved. High school students are sent to observe Rochester City Drug
Court.

During this school year, 21 students have been suspended from
Irondequoit High School for drug and alcohol violations. Ninety
percent have chosen counseling and community service to reduce their
time out of school. Two students have been suspended from Dake Junior
High School for drug and alcohol offenses. Both have chosen counseling
and community service.

"Schools around the state have sent us thank-you notes," said Crane.
"Now they can get into intervention."

Other districts

A seven-week suspension still is significantly longer than the
penalties issued at other schools. In Pittsford Central schools, for
example, there is a mandatory five-day suspension for students who are
caught possessing or being under the influence of drugs or alcohol on
school grounds or at school-related activities. Every student who is
suspended for such an infraction is offered optional counseling. Eight
students were suspended last year.

In the Hilton district, students caught with drugs or alcohol also
face a five-day suspension. They are referred to Hilton's Student
Assistance Team, which includes a staff member who does drug and
alcohol counseling. Students who seek medical intervention can see
that suspension reduced to three days.

Steve Lemon, the director of safety and security for the Hilton school
district, says that no students were suspended for substance abuse in
Hilton's middle school or high school last year.

In the Rochester School District, drug or alcohol possession results
in an automatic suspension, the length of which is determined by the
principal. Students are directed to student support centers, where
they can get help from such community agencies as the Center for Youth
Services.

Last year, there were 62 suspensions.

Crane hopes that the stiff penalties in West Irondequoit help students
understand the gravity of their offense. They are tutored by district
staff members for two hours each day during their suspension period,