Pubdate: Fri, 29 May 2015
Source: Idaho Mountain Express (ID)
Copyright: 2015 Express Publishing, Inc
Contact:  http://www.mtexpress.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2296
Author: Terry Smtih

SCHOOL BOARD NIXES STUDENT DRUG PROGRAM

Decision follows criticism of plan by local professionals

The Blaine County School District will go back to the drawing board to
develop a plan to help students with substance abuse problems.

The decision by the district board of trustees to scrap the proposed
Adolescent Substance Abuse Program, referred to as ASAP, came during
the board's May 12 meeting. It followed criticism of the plan by local
professionals involved in helping youngsters with substance abuse
problems and offers by those professionals to help the district
develop a plan reflecting the latest research and with more chance of
success.

Eric Thomas, a Blaine County juvenile probation officer, commended the
district for its motives but said the proposed plan will not work.

"We really do have a problem," Thomas said. "The fact that we have so
many disenfranchised youth that feel this is OK is shocking.

However, he said he was very much against compulsory
expulsion.

"I feel that mixing discipline with treatment is a dubious combination
at best," he said. "We've been doing it to them rather than with them.

"Part of my concern about ASAP is that it seems to reinforce our
current policy that I believe has failed us, and I think we can do a
lot better. I personally hope this can be a community discussion for
the next year."

The current district policy provides for immediate suspension of
students who violate the district's drug policy and for expulsion for
a repeated offense. The policy does not differentiate between
prohibited substances, such as tobacco, alcohol, marijuana or harder
drugs, and does not consider the extent of a student's use or addiction.

The proposed new plan would have provided for in-house suspension for
offenders, under which a student could continue studies but in a
separate facility. The plan would have given a student a second chance
for a repeat offense, but provided that a third offense be referred to
the board of trustees for expulsion proceedings.

The vote to scrap the plan came after a lengthy discussion by the
board on next steps to be taken. It seemed a foregone conclusion that
the measure would fail, but Trustee Robert Clayton moved to approve
the plan, as a matter of protocol, so that the board could proceed to
a next step.

The vote to approve the plan was 2-3, with Clayton and board Chair
Shawn Bennion voting in the affirmative and Vice Chair Kathryn Graves
and Trustees Kathy Baker and Elizabeth Schwerdtle voting no.

"I think it's very important that we not move too quickly," Baker
said.

"This is a communitywide issue," Schwerdtle said. "It's not just a
school issue, so it needs to be collaborative."

"It's really important to get this discussion going," Graves said. "I
think we've got an amazing opportunity here. We have a great
opportunity to change our culture."

The board agreed to appoint a task force to develop a new plan for
implementation in the coming school year.

ASAP was developed by a team of district officials, ostensibly with
input from St. Luke's hospital, the county's Juvenile Probation Office
and the Blaine County Community Drug Coalition, at the behest of
district Superintendent Gwen Carol Holmes to address the problem of
substance abuse and its effect on high school graduation.

Holmes earlier described as "compelling" the fact that 20 of the 32
students who failed to graduate in 2014 had "known substance abuse
issues."

ASAP was first presented to the school board in March and brought to
the board for approval in April. Criticism of the plan started at that
time, and the board decided to table the matter for further
consideration.

It was brought to the board for approval a second time at the May 12
meeting, but was again the subject of public criticism.

"I ask that you not approve the ASAP proposal, given the many concerns
local professionals have voiced with the ASAP program over the past
several months," said Ketchum attorney Andrew Parnes, who is currently
contracted as a public defender by Blaine County and has extensive
experience in handling juvenile substance abuse cases.

Parnes said a problem with ASAP is that it does not consider the type
of substance involved or the extent of a juvenile's use.

"ASAP does not provide for the needed long-term care," he said. "It
drains resources from those types of programs."

He further recommended that the district develop a "truly
collaborative process" by working with local professionals to "pull a
well-researched program into play by the second semester of next year."

Tim Price, a governing member of the Blaine County Community Drug
Coalition, told the board that the latest research shows that removing
offending students from school is counterproductive to recovery.

"School and recovery go together," Price said. "School and education
is at the heart of positive recovery."

Michael David, executive director of the Drug Coalition, commended the
district for attempting to address the problem, but told the board
that each situation needs to be considered separately with individual
assessments. Furthermore, David said that when offending students are
removed from school, their abuse of drugs or alcohol tends to increase.

"The bottom line is there's no place for these kids to go," David
said.
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MAP posted-by: Matt