Document text
Ashland teachers approve drug rules By DAMIAN MANN ASHLAND - Teachers reacted favorably to procedures released this week by the school district that specify how to conduct an investigation of students caught using drugs or alcohol. The standards and procedures were devised after the high school found itself embroiled in a dispute over leadership students suspected of smoking marijuana at a hotel room in Oklahoma City during a debate team tournament in June. After the school board overturned an earlier decision to expel two of the students, teachers refused to go on any more field trips. Leeanne Wallace, Ashland Education Association president, said teachers were comfortable with the procedures, which the district had never written out before. She acknowledged that it would be difficult for a district to write a procedural handbook that encompasses every conceivable situation, though some have tried. "I have taught in Arkansas with a student handbook as big as a phone book with all the do's and don't's," she explained. Since the incident, teachers have found more parents eager to go along on field trips to help supervise, said Wallace. Debate team coach John Tredway said the new procedures don't answer every question that might arise, but at least teachers feel supported. "You can't cover every base. you can't anticipate everything that will happen," he said. Since the events in Oklahoma City, Tredway and other teachers are more cautious about the supervision of students. Previously, Tredway said he would go on trips alone with the students. Now, he takes a new assistant coach and parents along to help him. "This is the first time in 30 years that I've had an assistant coach," said Tredway. At a recent debate tournament in the Willamette Valley, Tredway said five parents and his assistant coach accompanied him on the trip with 40 students. While the procedures offer general guidelines, they suggest "reasonableness" as one of the guiding principles: "What would a reasonable person do given the circumstances and policies that guide us?" Investigations will primarily be conducted by administrative staff, whenever possible. But if a teacher is on a field trip or off-campus activity, a step-by-step method of inquiry is specified, including how students should be separated and interviewed, or belongings searched. Notes should be taken during the interview, and students should sign and date the written statement. Teachers then need to contact a school administrator to find out how to proceed with the investigation. A search of backpacks, suitcases or other belongings could also be conducted, but if a search of a student is required, law enforcement personnel may be used. In considering testimony, administrators will use a number of factors, from school records to what does a student have to gain from the testimony to determine credibility. If there has been a violation but a student is not expelled, the student could face other punishments, from exclusion from a school event to drug and alcohol assessment. If the evidence is not conclusive, no disciplinary action would be taken. In case of expulsion, a student can still follow an appeal process. Reach reporter Damian Mann at 776-4476, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.