SCHOOLS FACE LAW'S 2 VERSIONS

Measure Restricts Prescription Drugs

JEFFERSON CITY - Farmington Senior High School Principal David Waters
watched as some students were hospitalized after taking prescription
medicines they shouldn't have, and he knew they needed help. But it was
tough to get them services through the juvenile justice system.

So he fought for - and succeeded in getting - a new law that specifically
makes it a crime for pupils to distribute prescription drugs to others or
to possess them, no matter the type, on school property without valid
prescriptions.

The legislation is one of many Missouri laws taking effect tomorrow.

But it also has a wrinkle: Legislators passed, and Gov. Matt Blunt signed,
two versions of the measure, and they apply to different ages. That's among
the disparities in a handful of laws that legislators plan to resolve when
they meet for a special session early next month.

Meanwhile, the differences between the two versions could cause some
confusion for schools and law enforcement officials.

One applies the prohibitions on possessing or distributing drugs while on
school property - public or private - to anyone younger than 21, and the
other applies to those younger than 18. Violators face a misdemeanor
charge, which escalates with repeat offenses.

The law exempts those authorized by school officials and emergency personnel.

Most school districts already have policies about prescription drugs, the
Missouri School Boards' Association says.

The main change the law will bring is to allow school officials to go
beyond academic punishment for those who violate the policy.

Generally, even pupils who need their own medication hand it over to school
officials to dole out when needed, said Kelli Hopkins, an attorney and
director of education policy services for the association.

"It didn't change policy per se," she said. "The big difference might be
that because now there's a specific crime they can refer to, the district
could choose to report it to the police."

Waters said referring children to juvenile authorities gives them access to
counseling, drug treatment and other support services, along with
probation, where they could be tested to ensure that they don't take the
drugs again.

"We weren't interested in seeing kids locked up necessarily, but there are
a number of things available by all of us working together," he said.

His eastern Missouri high school of 1,200 students had about a dozen
incidents with prescription drugs last year, he said, more than the school
faced regarding alcohol or marijuana.

"It's an emerging problem for us," he said.

The school board group, which creates sample policies for districts on
various topics, said about 290 of the state's 524 districts use its
service, though they might tweak the wording to fit local needs.

The association already has a policy on prescription drugs and general drug
and alcohol abuse. With the new law, Hopkins said, a line can be added to
spell out that possessing or distributing prescription medicine on school
property without a prescription could lead to criminal charges.

The discrepancy in applying the restrictions to those younger than 18 or
those younger than 21 really won't affect school discipline policies, which
generally apply simply to pupils, she said, but could affect the legal side.

Sen. Kevin Engler said that Waters brought the idea to him and that a tough
part was convincing him and others that the law didn't already cover such
drug sharing.

"Nobody's thought through it and said, 'We've got this problem of legal
drugs being taken to school' because the drugs themselves were not
illegal," said Engler, R-Farmington. "Some of these kids needed help. They
needed to be forced into ... taking treatment or seeking counseling."

Engler said the plan is to make the law apply to those younger than 21 to
ensure that it covers everyone.

The Missouri Association of Secondary School Principals also said the law
will simply allow school officials to bring concerns to authorities as well.

"It probably aligns the state laws more with school policies," Executive
Director Jim King said.

King said the issue of determining at what age students fall under various
criminal provisions often arises at high schools.

"Principals fight that all the time in the gray issues. Are they really
under juvenile code or not? But for school policies, they don't
distinguish," he said.

[Sidebar]

NEW STATE LAWS

A look at new laws taking effect tomorrow, though the impacts of some
provisions might not be felt until later.

Crime

Toughens laws on drunken drivers who cause fatal accidents. Places new
restrictions on strip clubs. Repeals a law allowing the early prison
release of some drug offenders, burglars and other nonviolent offenders.

First Steps

Revamps the First Steps program, which provides therapy to developmentally
disabled infants and toddlers. Requires some middle- and upper-class
families to pay monthly participation fees and requires private insurers to
cover some program services.

Housing Disputes

Requires homeowners to follow detailed steps to try to get contractors to
fix problems on new or remodeled homes before homeowners are allowed to sue.

Job Incentives

Allows voters to consider local sales taxes for economic development. As an
incentive for creating jobs, certain businesses could keep a portion of the
withholding taxes they collect from new employees' paychecks.

Lawsuit Limits

Limits medical malpractice and injury lawsuits by restricting where they
can be filed, capping how much money juries can award victims and limiting
the current practice of shared liability among defendants.

Medicaid

Among other changes, the health-care program no longer will pay for
services such as dental care or eyeglasses, income thresholds to qualify
for some programs changed and recipients will pay more through copayments,
premiums and personal expenses.

Phone Rates

Allows cities to tax cell phone providers while lowering local taxes on
traditional land line phone companies. Halts lawsuits by cities seeking
unpaid taxes disputed by cell phone providers. A separate measure makes it
easier for local telephone companies to get out from under state price
regulations.

Teen Drinking

Suspends the driver's licenses of minors convicted of alcohol possession
and requires schools to adopt penalty policies for students caught
drinking. Allows misdemeanor charges against people who knowingly allow
minors, other than their children, to drink on their property.

Tire Fees

Reinstates a fee of 50 cents per new tire purchased to help fund the
cleanup of old tire dumps.

Universities

Renames Southwest Missouri State University as Missouri State University.
Replaces the word "college" with "university" for Missouri Western State
and Harris-Stowe State. Drops the city designator from Missouri Southern
State University-Joplin. Gives Central Missouri State University the option
of renaming itself the University of Central Missouri.

Workers' Compensation

Makes it harder for injured Missourians to receive workers' compensation
benefits by tightening the definition of "workplace injuries."