SCHOOL DRUG PENALTIES MAY CHANGE

JAMES CITY -- Williamsburg-James City County school officials are
considering a softer approach to drug possession and will vote Tuesday night
on whether to ease the penalties for students caught possessing drugs and
alcohol on school property.

Under the proposed policy, first-time offenders would be suspended for 11
days as opposed to the current policy that calls for automatic expulsion. A
second offense of possession would result in expulsion.

The proposal also would require first-time offenders - and their parents -
to participate in a substance abuse intervention program and exclude them
from extracurricular activities, not including graduation, for 45 days.
Failure to comply would result in a 45-day suspension.

"I think that it's good," School Board Chairman John Alewynse said of the
student discipline revisions. "It opens the way to a more positive,
proactive approach to the problem."

Under the proposal, first-time offenders caught selling or using drugs or
alcohol would still face expulsion, and the changes would only involve
first-time offenders possessing drugs or alcohol.

James City County Police Chief Dave Daigneault said the changes sounded like
a good idea.

"They're easing them, but they're also educating," Daigneault said. "It
certainly makes sense to approach it that way."

The current district policy on drugs and alcohol lumps all offenses -
possession, use and distribution - under the same penalties and calls for
the principal's automatic recommendation for expulsion. Students and parents
can appeal that immediate recommendation to the School Board, which has the
discretion to adjust the penalties based on the circumstances, Alewynse
said.

"As matters now stand, we have the same penalty for a kid who leaves a
bottle of beer in the trunk of his car as we do for someone who arrives at
school in the morning falling down drunk," Alewynse said. "In a sense, it
trivializes the problem because it doesn't acknowledge relative significance
of different offenses."

Many times, Alewynse said, the School Board allows students to serve their
365-day expulsions at the district's alternative school, the Center for
Educational Opportunities, and then apply for early admittance after a
pattern of negative drug screens. The new policy, Alewynse said, gives
students who make one mistake the chance to stay at their home school, but
also gives the district a way to force the student and his or her parents to
address any potential substance-abuse problems.

Although figures for 2002-03 still are being compiled, Alewynse said there
is a perception among School Board members that the number of students using
drugs and alcohol has been increasing. He said school officials think the
new policy is a better approach to attacking the problem.

According to the state Department of Education Web site, W-JCC reported 18
incidents involving alcohol in 2001-02 and 41 incidents involving drugs. The
state report did not break down the numbers by grade, or whether the
incidents involved possession, use or distribution. According to a district
report in October, W-JCC's high school enrollment in 2002-03 was 2,674
students.

In many cases of possession of drugs or alcohol, Alewynse said, the board
thinks the parents don't take the problem seriously enough. The new policy
would force them to confront the issue and play a role in the solution, the
School Board chairman said.

"I can't overemphasize the role of the parents," Alewynse said.