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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2010-05-11 - AGENDA REPORTS - ZERO TOLERANCE POLICY (2)Agenda Item: <i�� CITY OF SANTA CLARITA AGENDA REPORT r r ' CONSENT CALENDAR City Manager Approval: i Item to be presented by: Frank Ferry DATE: May 11, 2010 SUBJECT: ZERO TOLERANCE POLICY DEPARTMENT: Parks, Recreation, and Community Services RECOMMENDED ACTION City Council approve proposal to ask the William S. Hart Union High School District Governing Board to make changes to the District's Zero Tolerance policy as it relates to student drug/alcohol use. 2. Appoint an ad hoc committee to work on this issue or ask representatives of the School Trustees -Council Committee to serve as representatives on behalf of the City Council. BACKGROUND During the public participation at the City Council meeting on April 27, 2010, Mrs. Krissy McAfee addressed the City Council about heroin problem in Santa Clarita and related the circumstances under which her son, Trae Daniel Allen, died from a heroin overdose. She stated that the existing drug programs in the schools (e.g., Just Say No, Red Ribbon, and the Zero Tolerance Policy at the William S. Hart Union High School District) are not effective enough in preventing drug use among students. She expressed the need to educate local youth about the effects of drugs and urged the City Council to help address this issue. At the same meeting, Councilmember Frank Ferry requested that an item be placed.on the City Council agenda to request that the William S. Hart Union High School District Governing Board review and make changes to its existing Zero Tolerance policy as it relates to student drug/alcohol use. The policy was initially issued in 1993 and has been reviewed and reissued three times since then, with the last reissue dated October 1, 2008. The enforcement/discipline section of the policy as it relates to alcohol and other drugs, which applies to all grade levels in the William S. Hart Union High School District, reads as follows: APPROVED 1. Possession/Use/Influence — First Offense a. When any student uses, possesses, or is under the influence of alcohol, illegal drugs, or any controlled substance while on school grounds, while going to or coming from school, during the lunch period whether on or off campus, or during or while going to or coming from a school -sponsored activity, the principal/designee shall: (1) Request assistance from the Sheriff's Department (school liaison deputy, when practicable), if judged appropriate or required. (2) Advise the student of his/her suspension from school for a period of five (5) consecutive school days. (3) Recommend expulsion unless it is inappropriate to do so due to "particular circumstances." (4) If an expulsion is recommended: (a) Advise the student of the principal's recommendation for EXPULSION. (b) Advise the student of his/her restriction from all school activities for the duration of the suspension and expulsion hearing process. (c) Notify the student's parent/guardian of the student's involvement, suspension, restriction from school activities, and recommendation for expulsion. The parent/guardian shall also be advised if the student has been arrested or cited by the Sheriff's Department. b. If expulsion is not recommended, the principal/designee shall transfer the student to another comprehensive school, continuation high school, or some other alternative program following the five-day suspension period, unless deemed inappropriate under the circumstances by the principal. 2. Possession/Use/Influence — Second Offense and Subsequent Offenses (while in the District) a. Same as l.a.(1-4) above. Mandatory Recommendation for EXPULSION. Possessing, Furnishing, Selling, or Possessing with Intent to Sell Paraphernalia a. Same as La -b above with the exception that a recommendation for expulsion and/or transfer is not mandatory. 4. Furnishing, Selling, or Possession with Intent to Sell Alcohol, Any Illegal Drugs or Controlled Substance (or Facsimile) a. Same as 2.a above, i.e., Mandatory Recommendation for EXPULSION. A student suspended for drug/alcohol violations is referred to the Drug and Alcohol Prevention Education Curriculum (DAPEC) program, although attendance is not a requirement. DAPEC is a five-day intervention education program on substance use offered by the Child and Family Center. As an incentive, if the student attends DAPEC, he is allowed to make up school work missed during the suspension period. Otherwise, make-up work is at the teacher's discretion for students who are suspended from school. After the five-day suspension, the student is generally transferred to another school (for a pre -determined period) or possibly even recommended for expulsion, unless the principal determines this is inappropriate under the circumstances. The administrators at both the sending and the receiving schools usually call for a parent conference, and may refer the student to an intervention program such as ACTION. The student is allowed to return to his home school when the pre -determined period is over if the student has a satisfactory discipline record. If the student commits a second drug/alcohol offense, he is generally recommended for expulsion. The District's policies (and in this regard, the expulsion process) follow guidelines outlined in the California Education Code. The policy to transfer student offenders, however, was developed by the William S.Hart Union High School District. The Zero Tolerance policy further states that the William S. Hart Union High School District's Governing Board recognizes the value of support programs in helping students with their recovery and/or living in a family dealing with addiction. Other than DAPEC and possible referral to intervention programs or services, however, there is no provision in the existing Zero Tolerance policy to actually provide intervention and help for the student and his family. Given the choice, most parents prefer that their child stay in their home school rather than be transferred to another school after the five-day suspension. This situation is an opportunity to give students the option to not be transferred to another school provided the parents and student sign, and abide by, an agreement to get help. This voluntary contract could entail drug testing; seeking help from programs like ACTION (a local nonprofit group that assists families dealing with teen addiction and other at -risk issues through weekly parent -teen support groups, drug testing, treatment programs, and rehabilitation); maintaining certain grade and attendance requirements; and the like. This model is being implemented in other schools and has proven to be most helpful in promoting the best interests of the student. It gives the student and his family the help they need while at the same time, saving the school district's resources that would otherwise be used in dealing with the transfer or eventual expulsion of the student. As the struggling economy has reduced revenues to both the City of Santa Clarita and the William S. Hart Union High School District, it is essential that partnerships to address local concerns continue to be maximized between the two organizations. It may be appropriate for elected representatives of the City and the school district to meet and explore new collaborative opportunities or potentially revise existing ones. ALTERNATIVE ACTIONS Do not pursue consideration of the proposal to ask the William S. Hart Union High School District Governing Board to make changes to the Zero Tolerance policy. 2. Other direction as determined by City Council. FISCAL IMPACT None.