20 IRVINE HIGH PROM-GOERS BUSTED OUTSIDE

[]Group Suspended After Being Caught In Limo With Marijuana, Alcohol And
Nitrous Oxide.

Twenty Irvine High School students have been suspended for five days and
one faces possible expulsion after officials busted them on May 20 for
having marijuana, alcohol and nitrous oxide in a chauffeured van outside
the senior prom.

The senior facing expulsion allegedly supplied the nitrous oxide to the
others. He will almost certainly not be expelled, however, because the
school year will end before the six-week disciplinary proceeding can be
completed, Deputy Supt. Dean Waldfogel said.

The 18 students who are seniors will receive their diplomas. But five were
transferred from the school, and will not be allowed to take part in
graduation exercises because it was the second time they had been caught
with an illegal substance at a school event, school officials said.

"There were 989 [students] inside the prom having the night of their life,
perfectly behaved," Principal Gail Richards said. "There were 20 kids in
the parking lot who missed the night of their life because they made some
bad decisions about what a good time is supposed to be."

As for the students who will miss graduation ceremonies, she said: "The
consequences are tragic for the families to miss the culminating activity
for high school."

School officials had warned seniors not to bring alcohol or drugs to the
prom. The offenders were caught when an assistant principal boarded the
van--as is the practice for all buses arriving at the prom--and smelled
marijuana, she said.

"I had a senior class meeting before the prom and told them, 'We expect you
to come to the prom absolutely sober; don't even think of making bad
decisions,' " Richards said.

Four of the transferred students will complete the year at Self High
School, Irvine's continuation school; the other was on an inter-district
transfer, which was canceled.

The prom took place at the Sun Theatre in Anaheim. Two off-duty Irvine
police who were acting as parent chaperons at the event called Anaheim
police after the assistant principal caught the students, Richards said.

A senior girl was ticketed for possession of "a small amount of marijuana"
after the substance was found in her purse, Irvine Sgt. Bob Richardson
said. In addition, one opened and several unopened bottles of liquor were
found on the bus, as were several bongs, officials said.

No one was prosecuted for possession of the nitrous oxide, which is
illegal, because the Anaheim police could not prove who had brought the
27-inch canister onto the van, he said.

School officials, however, used less restricted interrogation techniques to
develop more information. That led to a recommendation of expulsion by
Richards, the principal. The state and the district proscribe a specific
process for expulsion, which includes a period for gathering and sharing
evidence, as well as a hearing prior to a final decision by the school board.

"We have a timetable in motion to set an administrative hearing . . . [but}
it takes six weeks to process an expulsion and have it reach the school
board," Waldfogel said. "One of the issues has to do with time left in
school and time to process an expulsion."

Waldfogel said the district would not notify colleges of the transgressions.

"Our goal here is to help kids all the way along," he said. "It is not to
damage lives of kids. The goal is to educate them about the dangers of
using illegal substances, to make the point that this behavior shouldn't be
repeated and to change behaviors that need to be changed."

Sgt. Richardson said the police were disturbed by the actions of the
limousine driver, and notified the state Public Utilities Commission, which
licenses limousine services.

"This tank was brought on board with knowledge of the limousine driver, who
was unaware they were using balloons full of nitrous oxide and smoking
marijuana," Richardson said. "He was very inattentive to what was going on
inside."