STUDENTS 'EXCLUDED' FOR ARRESTS

Schools Respond To Off-Campus Offenses

By Monday morning, administrators at Madison High School knew police had
raided a Saturday night party at the home of student Will Royall and found
what they believed to be drugs in his bedroom.

A teacher warned Will, 17, that there was an effort under way to have him
kicked out of Madison, in Fairfax County, Va.

"Everything's OK," Will assured the teacher. "It was off school grounds;
don't worry about it."

It would be his last day at Madison that school year. Although Will had not
yet been charged in the Oct. 17, 1997, incident, school officials removed
him for the rest of the school year, saying he had committed "serious
illegal acts in the community."

The decision stunned his parents, who knew Will had a drug problem and had
enrolled him in a treatment program.

But what happened was no fluke. Determined to make schools safer and root
out threats before trouble erupts, a growing number of states have passed
laws making it easier for school officials to get juvenile crime
information and remove students swiftly for off-campus conduct.

Debate has been vigorous over the disappearance of confidentiality rules
that once prevented a principal or a teacher from knowing about a student's
problems with the law. Critics say children are being expelled or labeled
troublemakers before they've had their day in court. Proponents argue that
by being more informed, school officials can better anticipate problems and
help students get counseling.

Virginia law requires courts or police to notify the local school
superintendent when students are arrested for offenses such as assault,
burglary, and drug or weapons violations, no matter where the alleged crime
occurred. It allows school boards to remove students for certain off-campus
behavior. And it covers cases such as Will's, in which charges were pending
because police had not analyzed the substances found in his room.

The Fairfax school system has given a new name to an expulsion for a crime
committed in the community: "exclusion." In the past school year, Fairfax
had 56 exclusion recommendations, up from 47 in 1997-98.

"This is one arena where the well-being of the individual is not of
paramount concern but rather the safety and well-being of the general
population," said Fairfax school hearing officer Doug Holmes.

Community violence often carries over to schools, and school officials want
to know about the first sign of trouble, said Ronald D. Stephens, director
of the National School Safety Center.

"School officials are saying, `Look, we don't want to be blindsided,' "
Stephens said. "The (Littleton) Colorado incident has resulted in a
tremendous amount of finger-pointing as to who should have known what."

But critics say it's troubling that schools are being told about criminal
charges that may later be dismissed or not even go to court.

"Reporting and acting on the basis of an arrest, rather than a conviction,
disturbs me," said Bob Shepherd, a professor of law at the University of
Richmond who specializes in juvenile law. "People can be arrested and found
not guilty, and how do you reverse what might have taken place."

Virginia is among about a dozen states that have changed their laws in
recent years so that more juvenile arrest information can be given to
school officials. When students are removed from school, the school system
must provide an alternative educational program.

State lawmakers gradually expanded the reporting system, which initially
required the reporting only of criminal convictions but was changed in 1995
to include arrests. Since then, the legislature has amended the law so
principals may tell not only teachers but also school personnel involved in
"support services."

Four months after Will was removed from Madison, police filed criminal
charges. In an April court hearing, he pleaded guilty to a drug possession
charge. He was allowed to return to Madison for his senior year and
graduated in June.