MIRA COSTA POLICIES TOUGHENED

Mira Costa High School will crack down on students who skip classes or get
caught with drugs by taking away some of their most cherished activities -
sports teams, school clubs and prom nights - under new policies adopted
this week.

The guidelines, approved by the school board Wednesday night and effective
immediately, are designed to be tough but flexible, providing students with
options, appeals and opportunities to keep violations off their transcripts.

"In essence, it gives them a second chance," board member Tracey Windes
said, referring to the new drug policy.

The drug and alcohol policy gives first-time offenders a choice: They can
go the traditional route, taking a suspension and a yearlong ban from
extracurricular activities, or they can agree to counseling with their
parents and random drug tests.

Students who choose the latter option will be banned from extracurricular
activities until a drug test comes back clean. The violation will not go on
transcripts sent to colleges or universities.

Students will not know when the drug test is coming.

Windes said the new policy offers a little wiggle room for otherwise good
students who slip up. District studies show that about one-quarter of Mira
Costa 11th-graders are habitual marijuana users.

"We want you to stay off drugs, but we acknowledge that poor decisions can
be made," she said. "We're willing to give you one chance. That means you
give up your right not to be randomly drug tested or go into counseling
with your parents. They are waiving their privacy rights."

Under previous district rules, students were suspended on the first
offense, but "we never knew at that point if (they'd) stopped doing drugs,"
Windes said.

Second offenses result in expulsion.

Students seemed mostly supportive of the revised drug policy.

"They're actually trying to help a student that gets caught instead of
penalizing them," 11th-grader Jesse Kramer said.

Ryan Olivarez, a 10th-grader, thinks the new policy could encourage
students to permanently change their ways.

"First of all, you shouldn't be doing drugs or alcohol," he said. "If you
choose to get the drug test and go through counseling, you'll quit and you
won't have to worry about it anymore."

But reaction to the revised attendance policy is tepid.

Under the new rules, seniors are no longer allowed to miss 10 or more
periods a semester in any class. If they do, they won't be allowed to
attend senior activities such as prom, senior awards night or Grad Night.
If they miss 15 or more class periods, they won't be able to walk at
graduation.

Students are not penalized if they miss class for school-sponsored events,
but they must get permission from a teacher. Students can be excused for
medical reasons if they have a doctor's or parent's note.

School officials estimate that up to 97 percent of 2002 graduating seniors
missed 10 or more periods of one class, including those missed for sports,
field trips and club activities. There are about 90 days in a semester,
with each class meeting once a day.

The district loses money each time a student misses class.

"You can't help all the time when you're absent, if you're sick, there's a
death in the family, a vacation," Jesse said.

Students will be allowed to appeal their absences before a review board
that has yet to be established.

Still, Amy Johnsen, an 11th-grader, believes the policy goes overboard.

"When you're a senior, you don't really need to go to class," she said.
"Toward the end, it's not really important, and all you do is watch movies."