BOARD RIGHT TO ADJUST POLICY

Bossier schools'' zero tolerance sometimes conflicts with common sense

The Bossier Parish School Board today can remedy
a simplistic approach to discipline and perhaps cure a public relations
headache by revamping its drug policy regarding over-the-counter medicines.

A five-member committee Tuesday recommended putting more authority in
the hands of principals when students are found to be in possession of
such drugs. The full board meets today.

The district has been reeling since a Parkway High School student was
expelled and reassigned to Bossier's alternative school for having
Advil in her purse. State law requires any prescribed or
over-the-counter medications be left with each school's administrative
office along with a physician's note and parental authorization. The
law, however, is silent on the penalty for violating that law,
allowing each school district to set its own policy. Bossier had
elected to follow an across-the-board one-year expulsion policy for
all drugs whether they are over-the-counter, prescribed or illegal.

While such zero-tolerance policies simplify enforcement and pre-empt
allegations of uneven application of punishment, they also can create
a theater of the absurd, penalties that can fly in the face of common
sense. To treat Advil the same as methamphetamine or even tobacco
lacks proportion.

Zero tolerance policies have been accused of creating more problems
than those that take a more individual approach to discipline. The
theory is that get-tough policies command attention, act as a
deterrent, streamline administrative loads. To be sure, penalties
should be meted out impartially, but punishment should also fit the
crime.

Bossier security chief Lynn Austin, a former Bossier City police
chief, is right in his observation that the current policy is too
broad and carries "unintended consequences." The Advil case is a prime
example.

The current policy does, as Austin notes, run counter to what's been
established in the criminal justice system. There penalties are
stepped for the potency of a drug, for example. Distinctions are also
made for simple possession versus distribution and sale.

To be sure, school districts are under increasing pressure by federal
mandates to assess the safety of schools, a difficult task when
policies vary between districts. However, allowing individual boards
to set their own policies is better than a over legislating discipline
policies.

In turn, Bossier's proposed change will put more responsibility on the
shoulders of principals, but who better to assess violations and their
impact than personnel at the school level. For those occasions when
the initial decision is questioned, Bossier has a very good
multi-tiered appeals process to protect a student's rights.

The Bossier board appears now to have a better handle on what the law
requires and what decisions it can tailor to its own constituents.
Changing its over-the-counter medicine policy is the right decision.