Plaquemines Drug-Free Policy

STUDENTS

Approved by Board Action February 2, 1987

Revised: May 27, 2004

                                         DRUG EDUCATION

          AND ENFORCEMENT POLICIES

       I.       GENERAL PREMISES

Alcohol and other drugs are considered harmful to good health and detrimental to learning, and therefore, no student shall be permitted to use, possess, or be under the influence of alcohol or other drugs on school property or at a school function.  For all disciplinary purposes, prohibited drugs shall include all controlled dangerous drugs, alcohol, marijuana, inhalants, anabolic steroids, prescription drugs not properly prescribed or for bonafide medical use, counterfeit substances, so-called "look alike" drugs, and any other mood-altering chemicals.  Toward this purpose, Plaquemines Parish School Board shall administer the appropriate educational and enforcement programs to reduce the incidence of drugs in the schools.

      II.       EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS

Each school shall administer a drug education program to include the following:

A.     A comprehensive drug education curriculum, in grades K-12, involving sixteen contact hours for K-9 and eight for 10-12.  The curriculum is to be incorporated into the existing courses in Health and Physical Education as well as appropriate subject areas at the elementary and secondary levels.

B.     The work of Substance Abuse Prevention through Education Program (SAPE') committee at each building level to include school and community programs, student and parent counseling, and student referral.

C.     Each principal shall annually document that all students have been provided the minimum required contact hours of alcohol, drug and substance abuse education and that all teachers and staff have been properly inserviced.

     III.       DRUG DETECTION PROGRAM

Any teacher or other school employee who suspects students of illegally using, possessing, or distributing alcohol or other drugs must report that suspicion to the principal or his designees.  (Act 861, 1981`)

Plaquemines Parish School Board, in conjunction with the Plaquemines Parish Sheriff's Office or other authorized agencies, may conduct inspections of school facilities for the purpose of detecting drugs in accordance with the policies outlined below.

A.     GENERAL CONDITIONS

1.     All inspections shall be unannounced.

2.     The Superintendent or designee and one building-level administrator shall accompany the law enforcement officer(s) conducting the inspection.

3.     These policies shall apply to all property owned or used by the School Board.

                4.     These policies shall apply to all school functions

                        curricular or extracurricular, which are under

                the  jurisdiction of the School Board.

5.        All searches shall be conducted in such a manner so as to insure the personal safety and property rights of students.

                6.     Inspections shall be conducted so as to cause the least possible disruption to regular school activities.  The School Board reserves the right to limit the number of inspections at any given school during a school term.

                7.     The School Board shall be granted access to any information or evidence which may warrant disciplinary action against a student; likewise, school officials shall make available similar information to law enforcement agencies except as is restricted by the Family Privacy Act of 1974.

                8.     Any student athletes suspected of alcohol or drug use will be referred to the Drug and Alcohol Review Committee.  Each school will form a committee including the principal, counselor, two teachers, drug coordinator and a representative from the central office.  This committee will determine if there is enough reasonable suspicion for a drug test to be administered.  The committee’s determination will be communicated with the parents in strictest confidentiality.

        There will be two Substance Abuse/Misuse Contract and Consent Forms which must be signed by every athlete and his/her parents.  One letter will be from the LHSAA and the other will be from the Plaquemines Parish School Board.  It will be mandatory for the parent and student to sign in the presence of the head coach or his designee before he/she will be able to participate in athletics.

B.       SEARCH AND SEIZURE

        1.     All school facilities and properties shall be subject to search including (but not limited to) classrooms, lockers, bathrooms, storage areas, athletic facilities, parking areas, school buses, cafeterias, school books, etc.

        2.     Random searches shall be conducted according to local law enforcement procedures.  (See appendix.)

        3.     All personal property on school premises shall be subject to search wherein probable cause exists for the search to be conducted.  This shall include school-related supplies, personal clothing, and personal transportation.  (See also item 4.)

        4.     A teacher, principal, school security guard, or administrator may search the person of a student or his personal effects when there are reasonable grounds to suspect that the search will reveal evidence that the student has violated law, school rule or school board policy.  Such searches must be conducted according to the School Board policy on Searches, Seizures and Interrogations.  Nothing herein shall be construed to afford a student an expectation of privacy which would not otherwise exist.  Refusal to submit to a personal search for alcohol and other drugs or evasion by flight is an act of insubordination and will result in suspension until a student submits to a drug-screen arranged by the school board.

5.        Should the principal or his designee have reasonable suspicion to believe a student is under the influence of alcohol or drugs without the actual drugs or alcohol being present, verification must be determined in one or more of the following ways:

        a.     The student may concede that he/she has recently used drugs or alcohol.

        b.     Witnesses may be presented to the effect that the student is under the influence of drugs.

        c.     Empty alcohol or drug containers known to have been in the possession of the student may be submitted as evidence.

d.        Medical tests to determine the existence of drugs may be required if verification cannot be determined by methods a., b., or c.  Students will be referred for a drug screen to the Plaquemines Center for Addictive Disorders.  The cost for any drug tests shall be borne by the parents or guardians of the student.  Any student required to submit to a drug screen will remain suspended until parents or guardians provide to the principal of their child’s school the appropriate documentation/results of the required drug test.

C.     PROCEDURES WHEN ALCOHOL OR DRUGS ARE

        DISCOVERED DURING AN INVESTIGATION

1.     Should the drug detection dog alert during a search, the owner of the property shall be detained and an investigation initiated.

2.     Any investigation shall include a comprehensive review of all evidence, statements made by the student under suspicion, and statements made by witnesses.  Parents shall be promptly notified of the investigation.

3.     Any student determined to be in the possession of drugs or alcohol, to be distributing the same, or under the influence of same, shall be subject to disciplinary action by the Board, as detailed in Part IV, and shall additionally be subject to arrest and prosecution by law enforcement agencies for violation of appropriate state and federal laws.

4.        All drugs and alcohol detected shall be confiscated and turned over to the Sheriff's Department, and the chain of control outlined in the School Board policy on Searches, Seizures and Interrogations shall be followed.

D.     CONDITIONS UNDER WHICH A STUDENT MAY LEGALLY USE DRUGS

A student may use at school only such drugs as have been prescribed by a physician.  Such drugs shall immediately be registered with the principal's office or nurse's station, to be housed there in a locked cabinet, and to be dispensed only according to physician's orders.  (See also Appendix A for appropriate procedures.)

Exceptions shall be granted only to certain Special Education handicapped students who require frequent medication, the terms of which shall be determined by the Director of Special Education.

IV.    STUDENT OFFENSES AND DISCIPLINE

A.     POSSESSION or USE of any prohibited drug, as previously defined, except a Controlled Dangerous Substance, on school property, on a school bus, or at a school event anytime during the entire tenure of a student in the school system shall result in the following disciplinary action.

1.     FIRST OFFENSE - 5-10 days suspension and the student shall be ineligible for participation in all extracurricular activities for the period of one semester.  (18 weeks).  Both parents and/ or guardians living in the home must accompany the student to the school and have a conference with the principal and/or the SAPE team, and subsequently attend a substance abuse assessment scheduled by the school with a professional substance abuse agency.  The student shall also attend and participate in a minimum of 5 one-hour counseling sessions provided by a school substance abuse counselor, or a professional substance abuse agency approved by the school.  Failure to participate shall result in suspension until agreement to participate is reached.

2.        SECOND OFFENSE - SUSPENSION from school for a period not to exceed the remainder of the school year.

B.     POSSESSION of any Controlled Dangerous Substances (which include, but are not limited to, marijuana, cocaine, anabolic steroids, etc.) or the PRODUCTION, MANUFACTURE, DISTRIBUTION, DISPENSATION, SELLING, GIVING or LOANING of the prohibited drugs, as previously defined, on school property, on a school bus, or at a school event shall result in the following disciplinary action:

1.     FIRST OFFENSE - SUSPENSION WITH RECOMMENDATION FOR EXPULSION.

a.     Any student, sixteen years of age or older, found guilty of possession of, or knowledge of and intentional distribution of or possession with intent to distribute any illegal narcotic drug, or other controlled substance on school property, on a school bus, or at a school event pursuant to a hearing as provided for by R.S. 17:416(C)(1) shall be expelled from school for a minimum of twenty four calendar months.

b.     Any student who is under sixteen years of age and in grades six through twelve and so found guilty pursuant to a hearing as provided for by R.S. 17:416(C)(1) shall be expelled from school for a minimum period of twelve calendar months.

c.     Any case involving a student in kindergarten through grade five so found guilty pursuant to a hearing as provided by R.S. 17:416(C)(1) shall be referred to the local board where the student attends school through a recommendation for action from the superintendent.

2.     In addition, the student shall attend and participate in the school system counseling program provided by a school substance abuse counselor at an off-school site, or an approved counseling program provided by a professional substance abuse agency.

3.        Any student arrested for possession of, or intentional distribution of, or possession with intent to distribute, an illegal narcotic, drug, or other controlled substance on school property shall be referred by the school principal or his designee, within five days after such arrest, for testing or screening by a qualified medical professional for evidence of abuse of alcohol, illegal narcotics, drugs or other controlled dangerous substances. LA R.S. 17:416(C) (3) (a) 1991.

C.       The POSSESSION or USE of tobacco products while on school premises, on school busses, or at school-sponsored activities is prohibited.  Any student who violates this section shall be disciplined in accordance with ordinary school board policy.

Students who violate the prohibition of possession or use of tobacco will be suspended for three days and will be required to attend two educational sessions on Tobacco at the Plaquemines Office of Addictive Disorders in the company of their parents.

D.       The POSSESSION of DRUG PARAPHERNALIA is prohibited.  When a student is found to be in possession of materials used as drug paraphernalia, that is, all materials of any kind which are used, intended for use or designed for use in containing, concealing, injecting, ingesting, inhaling, or otherwise introducing into the human body the prohibited drugs, the student shall be suspended according to the School Board suspension policy.  The student shall also be referred to the SAPE team for further evaluation.

E.       While the intent of all policies is to assist students in correcting any drug problem, use or distribution of illegal drugs shall require the notification of appropriate law enforcement agencies and the individual shall be subject to prosecution for violation of appropriate state and/or federal laws.

F.     Any minor who is enrolled in schools other than the public school system shall participate in the counseling program by contact with the Drug-Free Schools Coordinator of the parish.

V.     POLICY REVIEW

The Plaquemines Parish School Board annually reviews its policy and its drug and alcohol abuse prevention programs.  Such reviews are designed to determine the effectiveness of the program, implement changes to the program if they are needed and to ensure that sanctions imposed are consistently enforced.