Investing in the Future

The Coalition for Youth and Families ( CYF) in Dayton, of which I am a member, discussed Dayton School District’s drug and alcohol policy during its meeting last week. The policy is being solidified for students who end up in trouble for the use, possession or distribution of drugs or alcohol.

The policy is still in prog- ress, and it aims to get students “into the system” – not necessarily with the intent to criminalize them, but to help the school and local authorities reach out and help stu- dents who may be troubled.

Columbia County Prosecutor Rea Culwell said that with the current system, by the time a student’s name crosses her desk, he or she may have been in serious trouble at school many times. But without any record on file from the school, the student will not receive any special attention or punishment outside of the district unless they reoffend and their case ends up back in Culwell’s office. The new policy will keep a record with the school so student transgressions are more easily tracked.

The new policy was a hot topic for CYF members, primarily because suspension and expulsion sends kids home and potentially away from furthering their education.

Many of us had a similar thought: keeping the student offenders in school to help the janitorial staff or main- taining the campus grounds, for example.

I liked imagining students would be forced to partici- pate in extracurricular activities like in Nicholas Sparks’ “A Walk to Remember”, and then everyone falls in love and has a happy-ish ending.

But life isn’t like the books and movies and we can’t expect students on drug and alcohol charges to beam (or brood) with Shane West’s charisma.

Plus, the district doesn’t have the funding to support a program that keeps troubled students at school after hours or even during regular class hours.

The big issue for discussion participants on Thursday was the out-of-school suspension. In the proposed new policy, a first-time of- fender would receive a five- day short-term suspension even if they agree to a drug/ alcohol assessment.

For many students, suspension would be more like a reward, especially students who lack a support system at home. However the school district simply doesn’t have the funds to set up in-school suspension.

The policy involves the student’s parents or guard- ians at the first sign of an issue and notifying law enforcement, because, after all, the possession, consumption or distribution of drugs and alcohol as a minor is still illegal. First-time offenders will also be referred to the intervention specialist/counselor.

During my public education years I was so uneventfully well-behaved that the only reprimand I ever received was for help- ing with a website full of jokes about band kids because I was a band kid. But trouble-mongering students still impacted me. If my peers showed up to class and caused a distraction, it impacted my desire to be in class and dampened my education.

Without a well-funded in-school suspension program, none of the students are getting the education they need or deserve. If the school was more capable of educating and keeping track of students who have offended, the entire system would benefit.

Of course, the question of where the money comes from is up to you.

For the students looking for a way to avoid acquiring a juvenile record and run-ins with law enforcement, I have some advice that has worked really well for me over the years.

My big secret is: don’t be an idiot and don’t do illegal things.