By Paul Menke
Is it fair to punish a student for an entire school year for one mistake?
At my old school in Shelby County, Tennessee, if a student was caught doing or having drugs or alcohol, they would be sentenced to 180 days, the equivalent to an entire school year, of In-School Suspension and a mandatory drug counseling program for repeat offenders. At Mashpee, the typical punishment for this offense is a few days of suspension, depending on the student’s history. Which strategy is more effective, and should Mashpee adopt Shelby County’s drug policy?
For those who are not familiar with “in-school suspension,” it is a punishment wherein one would report to a room at the beginning of each school day. The room would have a proctor in it, and one would be brought any work that needed to be done to their designated cubicle-like workspace. The student would be given online or written lessons to learn, and the only two reasons the student would be able to leave would be for an escorted bathroom visit and, possibly, for lunch. Lunch was brought to the student either way, so there was no starvation involved. Finally, there would be no virtually no communication whatsoever for the 7-hour school day, and multiple drug offenses would lead to expulsion.
Is it fair to punish a student for an entire school year for one mistake?
At my old school in Shelby County, Tennessee, if a student was caught doing or having drugs or alcohol, they would be sentenced to 180 days, the equivalent to an entire school year, of In-School Suspension and a mandatory drug counseling program for repeat offenders. At Mashpee, the typical punishment for this offense is a few days of suspension, depending on the student’s history. Which strategy is more effective, and should Mashpee adopt Shelby County’s drug policy?
For those who are not familiar with “in-school suspension,” it is a punishment wherein one would report to a room at the beginning of each school day. The room would have a proctor in it, and one would be brought any work that needed to be done to their designated cubicle-like workspace. The student would be given online or written lessons to learn, and the only two reasons the student would be able to leave would be for an escorted bathroom visit and, possibly, for lunch. Lunch was brought to the student either way, so there was no starvation involved. Finally, there would be no virtually no communication whatsoever for the 7-hour school day, and multiple drug offenses would lead to expulsion.
The Mashpee High School Parent/Student Handbook explains the school’s policies for drug offenses. “Our rules and regulations are based on a system of progressive discipline. This means that an administrator has the discretion to increase penalties in cases of second and third offenses.” Other factors taken into account for proper disciple include the severity of the offense, the student’s history, and the student’s willingness to change his/her behavior. The handbook also explains that students caught with controlled substances, including but not limited to alcohol, marijuana, heroin, or cocaine, will be subject to expulsion.
First, an examination of the philosophies behind both schools’ policies. On one hand, Shelby County likely believes that the threat of incredibly harsh punishment would deter drug use and possession, and ensures a safe learning environment for those who abide by the rules. On the other hand, Mashpee likely believes in forgiveness and leniency for mistakes, and that there should be more room for correction and ultimately leads to a better outcome in life.
Obviously, the presence of drugs is found in both school systems and, if not every, almost every school system in the United States, but the question of how to deal with it still remains.
According to Classroom | Synonym, a website that provides information about the classroom and education process, a stricter drug policy enforcement is much more popular with teachers, parents, and communities because it “favors increased disciplinary action if they fear the safety of their children is at risk.” The goal of stricter policies is to increase community living standards and to “(send) a clear message to all students of what is acceptable and unacceptable behavior.
However, according to drugabuse.com, a website published by a company that provides addiction treatment services, a stricter drug policy provides the opposite effect that was intended. “Many psychologists, educators, independent researchers and substance abuse professionals are now giving zero-tolerance drug policies an ‘F’ in effectiveness.” They reported that students who attend schools with strict drug policies were 1.6 times more likely to use marijuana than students attending schools with less-strict substance abuse policies.
The article stated that there were more suspensions, expulsions, and mandatory substance abuse programs in schools with strict drug punishment, which is to be somewhat expected. The effects are reportedly more than just face-value: more suspensions and expulsions led to more dropouts and higher delinquency rates than in less-strict schools. In conclusion, the article stated that “policies of communication were far more beneficial than policies of mandated punishment.”
Given this information, should Mashpee’s drug policy change? Yes, I believe that it should, but it does not have to go to the extent that Shelby County has taken it. First and foremost, Mashpee should develop an in-school suspension program, because out-of-school suspension is practically a mini-vacation and is not a punishment that deters future drug or alcohol usage.
Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, the school needs better enforcement of their drug searches and policy violations. The drug searches have been grossly ineffective, and students have been able to craftily evade the non-thorough searches. The only methods that have been previously employed and effective have been the drug sniffing dogs and the drug/breathalyzer tests, and therefore should be used much more often if the school system is serious about cracking down on drugs - and possibly adding in car searches with probable cause.
Finally, consistency and “practicing what is preached” is essential for the deterring of student drug usage. There is one thing worse than having no rules-- having rules but not enforcing them. There should be no students who violate the school’s drug policy more than three times and do not receive the punishment stated in the Parent/Student Handbook.