STUDENTS WANT DRUG POLICY CHANGED

Report Pushes Significant Revisions

Area high school students urged local school leaders to accept revisions to
their substance abuse policy - changes students say will be beneficial to
the well-being of their peers.

Members of the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Board of Education received a report
Thursday concerning revisions to the district's policies about substance
abuse and tobacco.

At the beginning of the board's meeting, members heard from two students
and one parent who expressed concerns about the current zero-tolerance
policy for athletes caught using controlled substances at East Chapel Hill
High School.

That policy requires that all athletes caught violating the district's
substance-abuse policy be kicked off their respective teams.

"The notion that this type of policy is effective is an illusion," said
Jackie Colvin, an East Chapel Hill High senior.

Just last year, Colvin was suspended from her school's tennis team after
she violated the substance-abuse policy. She said she favors the changes.

The proposed revisions - resulting from a nearly yearlong review process -
come from recommendations made by the school system's drug abuse task
force. Task force members included athletics coaches, law enforcement
officials, teachers and parents.

Their recommendations include placing emphasis on prevention, adding
alternatives to out-of-school suspension and applying punishment evenly
within the district.

Off-campus reporting was a particular source of consternation for many task
force members.

Parents and students currently can report students who are observed
breaking the substance-abuse policy off school property. "That leaves too
much room for gossip," Colvin said.

Under the proposed revisions, only those students who are cited by local
law enforcement officials can be sanctioned by school system policies.

"We don't want students spying on each other . even if it is for the best
intention," said city schools' Superintendent Neil Pedersen.

Michael Finegan, the student body vice president at East Chapel Hill High,
said the new plan is more representative of the views of his constituents.

"The new plan reflects more what the students believe," he said.

The new policy also includes a provision that allows students who are
suspended for on-campus drug use to re-enter school upon completion of an
educational program.

That option also applies to those who are punished for using tobacco
products on school property.

The Alternative to Suspension Program, which gives students caught smoking
the option to complete four sessions of one-on-one tobacco counseling, was
the catalyst for that new option.

"We really need to take tobacco seriously," said Stephanie Willis, the
district's health services coordinator.

Though board members decided to continue discussion of the proposed
revisions in March due to time constraints, many shared the view that the
issue of substance and tobacco abuse is an important one.

"This is a serious, serious problem that we haven't gotten a handle on,"
Pedersen said.