SCHOOL DRUG POLICIES DIFFER

Some students, parents criticize punishments as unfair, inconsistent

Gabe was an honor roll student at Milwaukee High School of the Arts when he
was caught in possession of marijuana. After a hearing at Milwaukee Public
Schools' central office, he was expelled.

Gabe's mother, Donna, was shocked. Gabe, 16, received a ticket for marijuana
possession from a Milwaukee police officer. He was not referred to
Children's Court and has no criminal record.

"He loved MHSA," said Donna, who asked that their last name be omitted to
protect her son's anonymity. "It's been really devastating getting expelled.
He's talked about suicide."

Milwaukee Public Schools officials declined to comment on the student's
case, but experts say policies on drug possession vary widely.

"In one district a student may have repeated offenses for drug possession
and still be in school, while in another, they could have one offense and be
expelled," said Nancy Dorman, an expert for the Wisconsin Association of
School Boards.

Nationally, "it's really all over the map," said Marcia Rosenbaum of the San
Francisco-based Drug Policy Alliance, a national organization devoted to
drug policy education. "It varies from locality to locality and even within
localities, from school to school."

Gabe lives in Waukesha and transferred from his public high school there for
the music program at the Milwaukee school. He also had been caught with
marijuana at the Waukesha school.

The punishment: a three-day suspension.

Had Gabe been caught a second time at Waukesha, his odds of being expelled
would have increased, said Jim Haessly, executive director of student
services for the Waukesha School District. But Haessly said there are
two-time offenders at the school who have not been expelled.

Minorities punished more often

Such differences in punishment can lead to inequities and long-term
consequences for students, Rosenbaum said. And low-income and minority
students may be more vulnerable to expulsion because their parents "have
less resources to fight expulsion."

State Department of Public Instruction statistics show that black students
were about twice as likely - and American Indian students were four times as
likely - as white students to be suspended or expelled for drug-or
weapon-related incidents for the 2001-'02 and 2002-'03 school years.

Department data show the total number of weapons/drug incidents has soared,
rising from 3,341 in 1998-'99 to 5,692 in 2002-'03. The department does not
break out drug incidents, but surveys of students show they are increasingly
less likely to carry weapons and more likely to use marijuana.

From 1993 to 2003, the percentage of Wisconsin students who said they
carried a weapon dropped from 9% to 5%, while the percentage saying they
used marijuana in the previous 30 days rose from 11% to 22%. The statistics
come from the Wisconsin Youth Risk Behavior Survey, which was conducted as
part of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's national
survey.

Marijuana use rising

When the survey asked students if they've ever used marijuana, the
percentage grows to 38% of all Wisconsin students and 52% of all students in
Milwaukee. Past studies have shown the percentage for Wisconsin is about the
same as the national average.

"We have seen a significant increase in the use of marijuana," Janesville
Superintendent Tom Evert said.

A 2002 district survey of Janesville students found that 48% of seniors had
smoked marijuana in the past year and 11% smoked daily. Evert said the
school system expels about 80 students a year, about 75% for possessing or
selling marijuana.

Janesville now has random locker searches with the use of drug-sniffing
dogs. Students caught with marijuana have an expulsion hearing and are
usually given a second chance, but only if they agree to a program of
therapy and random drug testing. Students who refuse or who get caught again
usually are expelled.

Milwaukee Public Schools also hews a tough line.

Hughes George, director of student services, said any student found with
more than half a gram of marijuana (the equivalent of half of a marijuana
cigarette) automatically has to have an expulsion hearing. If MPS officials
had the record of Gabe's incident at Waukesha, the odds of expulsion would
have increased greatly.

Difference in policies

Other schools have less punitive policies.

The Beloit school system will suspend a student for first-time possession
but will not require an expulsion hearing. A first-time user gets a minimum
of a one-day suspension in the Muskego-Norway school system and a five-day
suspension at Shorewood High School.

Officials at Muskego-Norway and Shorewood schools say drug possession cases
are infrequent and that expulsions rarely occur.

"It's not just an automatic, punitive measure handed down," said Rick
Monroe, principal of Shorewood High School. "It's oftentimes looked at as an
opportunity to change a student's life around."

Haessly said there are firm consequences for every student violating
Waukesha school policies. Just the threat of expulsion can sometimes turn a
student around, he said.

"Probably for every kid we expel, there are two we don't," Haessly said.

Most schools are tougher on students caught selling drugs, but policies on
this also vary widely, experts say.

Zero-tolerance policies

Nationally and statewide, the rise of a zero-tolerance policy toward weapons
and drug possession has led to an increase in expulsions, a 2001 DPI study
notes. But the Drug Policy Alliance cites studies showing that the
zero-tolerance approach has not reduced marijuana use by students.

Still, Paul Zettel, a health teacher at Riverside High School, said that
while tough policies such as the one at MPS may not deal with underlying
problems of student abusers, they do send a clear message to students about
pot use.

"They get caught, and they are done; they are out of there," he said.

Gabe's mother said his expulsion was life-changing.

He is enrolled in Hazelton Clinic in Minnesota for drug rehabilitation and
is examining his options at schools, but Donna fears Gabe will miss the
unique environment of High School of the Arts.

"He played bass in the orchestra and the band at school," Donna said. "It
was a really stimulating environment for him."