TEEN FIGHTING "ZERO TOLERANCE" DRUG POLICY ORDERED TO ANOTHER SCHOOL

The Corona del Mar High School senior who challenged the Newport-Mesa
School District's "zero tolerance" drug and alcohol policy will be
transferred to another high school, board members ruled late Wednesday
night.

Ryan Huntsman, 18, will be forced to attend Newport Harbor High School for
the remainder of the semester.

Huntsman, a yearbook staffer at Corona del Mar, had asked the board behind
closed doors Wednesday night to let him remain at his school. He told a
reporter he hoped "to go to prom, grad night and graduate with my friends."

He was stopped by Newport Beach police in February for playing his car
stereo too loudly.

Inside Huntsman's car, police allegedly found a pipe and a plastic bag with
trace amounts of marijuana, reports show.

Huntsman was cited only for playing the car stereo too loudly, but police
sent a copy of the report to school officials.

Because he was on his way to or from a school function, Huntsman falls
under the district's "zero tolerance" policy.

Huntsman took the district to court after he was prevented from presenting
evidence of a blood test showing he had not ingested marijuana. He said the
paraphernalia belonged to a friend.

David Shores, Huntsman's attorney, said the teen would appeal Wednesday
night's decision Friday in Orange County Superior Court.