HARTSELLE SCHOOL BOARD PROPOSES STIFFER PENALTIES

HARTSELLE -- The Hartselle school board is proposing to adopt a policy that
has stiffer penalties for misconduct by students who participate in
extracurricular activities.

The board is planning to amend its code of conduct to make sure students in
extracurricular activities are penalized for conduct that may not be
related to a positive drug test.

If a basketball player, for example, is caught with a can of Skoal in
school, he would serve the penalty in the code of conduct plus the penalty
in the new student drug-testing policy.

If the student is not in an extracurricular activity, he or she would serve
just one penalty.

The school board spent almost one hour Thursday night trying to figure out
how to bridge penalties in the drug-testing policy and those in the code of
conduct book.

"The best way to do it is to amend the code of conduct," Superintendent Lee
Hartsell said.

The board agreed with him. But amending the code of conduct would require a
policy revision that will further delay implementing the drug-testing program.

Hartsell said the code of conduct requires students who are under the
influence of alcohol to submit to a drug screening.

"The test is not designed for additional punishment," the superintendent
said. "The purpose of the test is to see if the student has a problem we
can help him deal with."

Board member Joe Berry questioned the logic of punishing a student under
the drug-testing policy for tobacco possession.

"I don't know how we are going to punish possession of tobacco with a drug
test," he said.

Hartsell said the majority of the students the school system disciplines
for alcohol and tobacco possession test negative.