Pubdate: Sat, 26 Jan 2008
Source: Dallas Morning News (TX)
Copyright: 2008 The Dallas Morning News
Contact:  http://www.dallasnews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/117
Author: Tawnell D. Hobbs, The Dallas Morning News
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?225 (Students - United States)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Marijuana)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/coke.htm (Cocaine)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/testing.htm (Drug Testing)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mdma.htm (Ecstasy)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/heroin.htm (Heroin)

MORE TEXAS STUDENTS ARE GETTING IN TROUBLE FOR DRUGS

Increase in Discipline for Possession, Sales Not Pegged to Just One 
Cause, Educators Say

More students in North Texas -- and across the state -- are being 
disciplined for having used, sold or possessed drugs or controlled 
substances on campuses, according to information released by the state.

In the Texas Education Agency region that includes Dallas, Collin and 
Rockwall counties, the number of incidents in which students were 
disciplined for drug infractions rose 13 percent between 2005-06 and 
2006-07, according to data compiled by the TEA.

And in the TEA region that includes Denton, Tarrant and Wise 
counties, the number of incidents rose 50 percent over the same 
period. the TEA will compile data for the current school year by December.

Statewide, the number of reported nonfelony incidents increased 10 
percent over the same period. Felony-level offenses, such as heroin 
possession, jumped 38 percent statewide, an increase officials 
speculated was due at least in part to the spread of cheese heroin in 
Dallas-area schools.

The figures, which the TEA got from school districts, include any 
drug-related activity that resulted in discipline, from suspensions 
to arrests. The data include misdemeanors and felonies but don't 
reveal which drugs were involved.

Reports of increasing student drug use create hard decisions for 
school districts. Some have approved random drug testing as part of 
an overall plan to fight student drug use, but others have been 
reluctant because of the cost.

State and local educators say they aren't sure why the increase 
occurred but suggested several reasons, including stepped-up 
enforcement, better drug-awareness programs and an actual increase in drug use.

Changing Focus

TEA spokeswoman DeEtta Culbertson said school districts are reporting 
that students are bringing in more prescription drugs. A study 
released last year by the White House found that teens nationwide are 
turning away from traditional illicit drugs, such as marijuana, and 
abusing over-the-counter and prescription medicines.

Ms. Culbertson said schools also are clamping down on students 
involved with drugs and are being more punitive.

Drug infractions can lead to a range of punishments, including 
suspension, placement in a disciplinary alternative school and 
referral to a county juvenile department. The severity of the 
punishment depends on the drug, and, in some cases, the amount. For 
example, kids caught with drugs punishable as a felony, such as 
heroin, ecstasy and cocaine, face mandatory expulsion.

The Fort Worth school system had the biggest increase in reported 
incidents among large districts, with the numbers nearly tripling 
from 132 to 381 from 2005-06 to 2006-07. In the Houston school 
district, the state's largest, reported incidents dropped from 1,074 to 914.

Administrators in Fort Worth couldn't explain the rise.

"We can't attribute it to anything other than we caught more people," 
said Clint Bond, Fort Worth school district spokesman. "There are 
spikes in different categories from year to year. I can't say there's 
an increase in drug use but just that we caught more people."

The state data are not broken down by type of drug or whether the 
student was selling, using or dealing it.  Mr. Bond said marijuana is 
the biggest problem in his 79,000-student district. He said he's 
certain his district will be monitoring the numbers for this school 
year, looking for trends.

'Cheese' Reports

In the Dallas Independent School District, incidents involving 
controlled substances and drugs rose 9 percent, from 739 in 2005-06 
to 802 in 2006-07. In addition, drug felonies nearly quadrupled, 
surging from 61 to 236.

Dallas administrators say they expected a big increase in felony 
reports after "cheese" heroin swept through several campuses last 
school year. When the drug showed up at some northwest Dallas 
schools, district officials launched a campaign to educate parents, 
students and staff members on the dangers of cheese, a mix of black 
tar heroin and crushed nighttime cold tablets.

DISD police have noticed a sizable drop in arrests for cheese in the 
159,000-student district. A recent report showed that only 15 
students were arrested for the drug this school year through 
November, down from 71 during the same period last year.

DISD Police Chief John Blackburn said the increase in nonfelony drug 
incidents between 2005-06 and 2006-07 is not much of a fluctuation in 
a district the size of Dallas, and suggested it was the result of 
heightened public awareness.

"More and more people are aware and on the lookout for drugs," Chief 
Blackburn said.

But awareness programs can swing drug numbers either way. For 
example, the Lancaster school district attributes a substantial 
decrease in drug-related incidents to outreach programs, such as a 
junior police academy and a tip line.

Debbie Meripolski, executive director of the Greater Dallas Council 
on Alcohol and Drug Abuse, said it's hard to know why some districts 
had increases in drug incidents.

"It could be that they're just going up, or because they're reported 
more," Ms. Meripolski said. "We can't really say for sure."
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake