A TOUGH ROAD AHEAD FOR KIDS IN DRUG SWEEP

For the 41 students arrested for investigation of selling drugs at
Modesto's high schools last week, the consequences may just be
beginning with their nights at Stanislaus County Juvenile Hall.

Legally, they could be facing more time in Juvenile Hall, six months
on probation or time with the California Youth Authority, depending on
any prior brushes with the law. Some may have to postpone going to
college.

And even if some of them manage to escape legal prosecution, many are
likely to face one-year expulsions from Modesto City Schools,
especially if the students have been in trouble before for possession
of drugs or being under the influence.

For the school system, taking the students out of class means the loss
of thousands of dollars from the state.

"It's a balance of revenue vs. safety," Associate Superintendent Jim
Pfaff said. "We have to investigate and let the Board (of Education)"
decide.

That does not sound right to Michael Harrington, who said his
17-year-old son was charged with selling marijuana to one of the
undercover agents in the sting that culminated with sweeps at all five
of Modesto's comprehensive high schools.

The district has suspended Harrington's son until May, and will soon
begin the expulsion process -- just weeks before he was due to graduate.

"To me, to expel him from school two weeks before graduation isn't
right," Harrington said. "They're going by hearsay. He hasn't been
found guilty of anything yet."

Harrington said his son should have been pulled out of school on the
February day when he allegedly sold the marijuana, rather than nearly
two months later.

If district officials decide to pursue expulsion, students will go to
the hearings before a three-member panel within 40 days. The panel
makes recommendations to the Board of Education, whose members have
the final say on whether students should be expelled.

The panel can recommend suspensions instead, Pfaff said.

If a student is expelled, he or she must leave the district for one
calendar year. They may enroll at one of Modesto's private schools,
but usually are picked up by one of the Stanislaus County Office of
Education's programs.

But those programs are basic, Pfaff said, and may deal a fatal blow to
students' chances at college.

None of the accused students has a grade-point average above 3.0,
although about one-third were taking college preparatory classes, Pfaff said.

"Going from a high school to a four-year school is very difficult" if
they are expelled, Pfaff said. "They're going to lose a full year of
college prep curriculum."

And that is not all.

Many federal and state college financial aid programs will not lend
money to students convicted of drug offenses, Pfaff said.