O'ROURKE SCHOOL CITES VIOLATION OF POLICY; DAD SAYS THEY OVERREACTED

The principal at Pauline O'Rourke Elementary School suspended
third-grade student Ryan Wright for five days Tuesday after he brought
what was described as a purple energy pill to school and swallowed it
during his lunch break.

Ricky Wright, the boy's father, said the pill was a green
multivitamin, and he and his wife -- a registered nurse -- did not
think his son was wrong in taking the pill to the school on Leroy
Stevens Road in west Mobile.

Wright said the school overreacted to the incident and that his son's
punishment was too harsh. School officials, meanwhile, cited written
policy, made available to parents, that specifically prohibits
students from bringing to school vitamins and even look-alike candies.

The incident was the latest in Mobile adding to the debate over
whether zero-tolerance policies aimed at keeping illegal drugs and
weapons out of schools were too harsh, sometimes punishing minor
offenders regardless of intent or extenuating circumstances.

Valerie Smith, president of the O'Rourke PTO, said Wednesday she did
not consider the five-day suspension too harsh.

"I think the principal acted within school policy, which is not
tolerating any medication of any kind, illegal or not," said Smith,
who has two children at O'Rourke. "It is a countywide policy, not just
an O'Rourke policy."

Mobile County public school system spokesman Stephen Pryor said
bringing vitamins to school falls under the school system's Group D
substance abuse policy which says students can't bring "imitation,
anor look-a-like substances ... over-the-counter medications,
vitamins, and food supplements" to school.

Pryor said that, depending on what type of medication or drug a child
is caught with at school, he can be suspended for five days or until
the end of the semester.

Karen Mohr, the principal at O'Rourke, had declined to identify the
9-year-old boy or his parents. Taking the pill did not harm the child
and he was not taken to a doctor, said Wanda Hannon, the school
system's interim supervisor of health services.

"I never saw the pill the child ingested," Mohr said. "He said it was
an energy pill and other students who saw it said it was a purple
pill. It was very frightening because we didn't know what the child
had ingested."

Mohr and Pryor said the boy was in clear violation of the school
policy. "Every chilparent is provided a copy of our student code of
conduct and are sent reminders of discipline procedures through weekly
parent newsletters," Pryor said. "If it is necessary for a child to
receive medication at school, parentguardians are required to deliver
the medication to school personnel designated by the principal and
complete permission forms for the child to receive medication at school."

Pryor said children are not allowed to keep medication on them. The
only exception would be "EpiPens or similar emergency treatment," the
school system spokesman said.

EpiPen contains the medication called epinephrine. Epinephrine, also
known as adrenaline, is the standard first line medication used in
emergency rooms and doctor's offices to treat allergic reactions. The
EpiPen is an auto injector or a disposable drug delivery system with a
spring activation and a concealed needle that delivers a shot of
epinephrine.

Students also cannot bring candy that resembles pills, such as M&Ms or
Tic Tacs, to school because they can be mistaken from real medicine
and cause a disturbance, Pryor said.

Wright, the boy's father, said the rule about children not being able
to bring vitamins to school was a "vague issue," and he and his wife
assumed it was OK for Ryan to have the vitamins.

Ryan took the vitamin to school along with some Tropical Trail Mix,
which he had for lunch Tuesday, Wright said.

Wright said that if the pill had been anything stronger, he and his
wife would not have allowed Ryan to take it to school or consume it.
If he had been caught with a dangerous, illegal drug, the suspension
would have been proper, the father said.

"It was an honest mistake on our part," Wright said.

Hannon, the health services supervisor, said that if a child needs
medication during the day, and it is approved by the parents and
school officials, the medication is kept in the school's first-aid
room.

Only designated school personnel can dispense the medication, the
health services supervisor said.

"It is a serious matter," Hannon said. "There are too many
opportunities for the wrong medication to get into the hands of the
wrong person at the wrong time and the wrong dosage."