STUDENTS STRUGGLE AFTER PUNISHMENT

EDUCATION: Parents Of Kids Who Were Affected By Zero-tolerance Rules Say
The Outcomes Were Negative.

(Tustin) - The nine studentbody officers from Foothill High, accused of
drinking alcohol at a leadership camp in Santa Barbara last month, all
knew the consequences: Get caught drinking or doing drugs and face an
automatic five-day suspension plus involuntary transfer to another
school.

But the long-term consequences are unknown, even to the people who
wrote Tustin Unified School District's zero-tolerance policy.

Last fall, five Foothill High football and baseball team members were
punished under the zero-tolerance rule for allegedly smoking marijuana
during lunch. What happened?

"Two of them dropped out," said Jack Greenberg, whose son, Jason, was
among the accused. "Two others barely made it through high school. But
you could see in their face, in their body language, they weren't the
same person. I don't know about the other guy."

Jack Greenberg and parents of other athletes say their kids were
wrongfully accused. They also argue that zero-tolerance rules are too
rigid and long-lasting for what is often a stupid-kid decision. And
they question how well it works as a deterrent.

"It obviously didn't scare those student-body officers," said Jim
Pierson, whose son, Britton, is still working on his high school
equivalency at a community college.

School districts around Orange County are constantly reassessing their
policies on drug and alcohol use. Laguna Beach Unified, for example,
is redrafting its policy to require in-school suspensions, counseling
and community service - not expulsion.

Tustin Unified is also considering revisions.

"I'm not convinced a single punishment is working," said board member
Francine Pace Scinto. "The long-term effects need to be
considered."

A panel of administrators is scheduled to hear appeals from the
suspended studentbody officers on Friday. The nine include several
honor students with ambitions to attend University of California or
Ivy League schools, according to friends.

Those dreams could die if they are found guilty of drinking. David
Shores, an attorney who has represented more than 100 students accused
of zero-tolerance violations, including the Foothill High athletes,
said the policy usually kills college plans.

"Virtually every instance I've had, students end up at junior college
instead of a four-year college," he said.

The Foothill athletes were not honor students. Britton Pierson and
Jason Greenberg both had learning disabilities and struggled with
their grades, their parents said. Greenberg, who played defensive end
on Foothill's football team before his suspension, graduated from
Tustin High in June thanks to counseling from a rabbi and intense
supervision from his parents.

"I was afraid to leave him alone. He was very, very depressed," said
Marta Greenberg, whose son is attending Rancho Santiago Community College.

Jim Pierson said his son hopes to play baseball again while earning
his high school equivalency diploma at Saddleback Community College.

"He's just now coming out of it," Pierson said of his son, who wants
to become a professional baseball pitcher. "A pro scout told me that
he wouldn't look at my son until we clean up his baggage. It destroyed
my boy. Not one positive has come out of it."

Some parents whose children have not broken rules wonder what they
would do if their children made a similar mistake.

"We are proud our son didn't do it," said Sylvie Tertzakian, a
Foothill High mother whose son attended the leadership camp at
University of California, Santa Barbara, but did not drink alcohol.
"There's peer pressure. It can happen to anyone."

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John Gittelsohn Can Be Reached
at(John_Gittelsohn@link.freedom.com)