What Works: Schools Without Drugs Part 11

Name things important to adults and then list rules they have made about these things. (This activity helps explain values.)

Solve a simple problem (e.g., my sister hits me; my math grades are low). Discuss which solutions are best and why.

Discuss school drug policies with the princ.i.p.al and other staff members. Learn how students can help make the policy work better.

Explain the connection between drug users, drug dealers, and drug traffickers and law enforcement officers whose lives are placed at risk or lost in their efforts to stop the drug trade.

Sample learning activities for secondary school:

Resolve hypothetical school situations involving drug use.

a.n.a.lyze the consequences for the school, other students, and the individuals involved.

Collect information about accidents, crimes, and other problems related to drugs. a.n.a.lyze how the problem might have been prevented and how the incident affected the individuals involved.

Conduct research projects. Interview members of the community such as attorneys, judges, police officers, State highway patrol officers, and insurance agents about the effects of drug use on the daily lives of teenagers and their families.

Draft a legislative pet.i.tion proposing enactment of a State law on drug use. Partic.i.p.ate in a mock trial or legislative session patterned after an actual trial or debate. Through these activities, students learn to develop arguments on behalf of drug laws and their enforcement.

OBJECTIVE 3: To recognize and resist pressures to use drugs.

Social influences play a key role in encouraging children to try drugs. Pressures to use drugs come from internal sources, such as a child's desire to feel included in a group or to demonstrate independence, and external influences, such as the opinions and example of friends, older children, and adults, and media messages.

Students must learn to identify these pressures. They must then learn how to counteract messages to use drugs and gain practice in saying no. The education program emphasizes influences on behavior, responsible decision-making, and techniques for resisting pressures to use drugs.

Sample topics for elementary through high school:

The influence of popular culture on behavior.

The influence of peers, parents, and other important individuals on a student's behavior. How the need to feel accepted by others influences behavior.

Ways to make responsible decisions and deal constructively with disagreeable moments and pressures.

Reasons for not taking drugs.

Situations in which students may be pressured into using drugs.

Ways of resisting pressure to use drugs.

Benefits of resisting pressure to use drugs.

Sample learning activities for elementary through high school:

Describe recent personal decisions. In small groups, decide what considerations influenced the decision (e.g., opinions of family or friends, beliefs, desire to be popular) and a.n.a.lyze choices and consequences.

Examine ads for cigarettes, over-the-counter drugs, and alcohol, deciding what images are being projected and whether the ads are accurate.

Read stories about famous people who stood up for their beliefs in the face of opposition. Students can discuss how these people withstood the pressure and what they accomplished.

Give reasons for not taking drugs. Discuss with a health educator or drug counselor the false arguments for using drugs.

Develop counter-arguments in response to typical messages or pressures on behalf of drug use.

Given a scenario depicting pressure to use drugs, act out ways of resisting (simply refusing, giving a reason, leaving the scene, etc.). Students then practice these techniques repeatedly.

Demonstrate ways of resisting pressures, using older students specially trained as peer teachers.

Present scenarios involving drug-related problems (e.g., learning that another student is selling drugs, a sibling using drugs; or being offered a drive home by a friend under the influence of drugs). Students practice what they would do and discuss to whom they would turn for help. Teachers should discuss and evaluate the appropriateness of student responses.

Discuss how it feels to resist pressures to take drugs. Hold a poster contest to depict the benefits derived both from not using and from saying no (e.g., being in control, increased respect from others, self-confidence).

OBJECTIVE 4: To promote activities that reinforce the positive, drug-free elements of student life.

School activities that provide students opportunities to have fun without drugs--and to contribute to the school community--build momentum for peer pressure not to use drugs. These school activities also nurture positive examples by giving older students opportunities for leadership related to drug prevention.

Sample activities:

Make partic.i.p.ation in school activities dependent on an agreement not to use drugs.

Ensure that drugs will not be available at school-sponsored activities or parties. Plan these events carefully to be certain that students have attractive alternatives to drug use.

Give students opportunities for leadership. They can be trained to serve as peer leaders in drug prevention programs, write plays, or design posters for younger students. Activities such as these provide youthful role models who demonstrate the importance of not using drugs. Youth training programs are available that prepare students to a.s.sist in drug education and provide information on how to form drug-free youth groups.

Form action teams for school improvement with membership limited to students who are drug free. These action teams campaign against drug use, design special drug-free events, conduct and follow up on surveys of school needs, help teachers with paperwork, tutor other students, or improve the appearance of the school. Through these activities, students develop a stake in their school, have the opportunity to serve others, and have positive reasons to reject drug use.

HOW THE LAW CAN HELP

Federal law accords school officials broad authority to regulate student conduct and supports reasonable and fair disciplinary action.

The Supreme Court recently reaffirmed that the const.i.tutional rights of students in school are not "automatically coextensive with the rights of adults in other settings."[1] Rather, recognizing that "in recent years ... drug use and violent crime in the schools have become major social problems," the Court has emphasized the importance of effective enforcement of school rules.[2] On the whole, a school "is allowed to determine the methods of student discipline and need not exercise its discretion with undue timidity."[3]

An effective campaign against drug use requires a basic understanding of legal techniques for searching and seizing drugs and drug-related material, for suspending and expelling students involved with drugs, and for a.s.sisting law enforcement officials in the prosecution of drug offenders. Such knowledge will both help schools identify and penalize students who use or sell drugs at school and enable school officials to uncover the evidence needed to support prosecutions under Federal and State criminal laws that contain strong penalties for drug use and sale. In many cases, school officials can be instrumental in successful prosecutions.

In addition to the general Federal statutes that make it a crime to possess or distribute a controlled substance, there are special Federal laws designed to protect children and schools from drugs:

An important part of the Comprehensive Crime Control Act of 1984 makes it a _Federal crime to sell drugs in or near a public or private elementary or secondary school._ Under this new _"schoolhouse" law_, sales within 1,000 feet of school grounds are punishable by up to _double_ the sentence that would apply if the sale occurred elsewhere. Even more serious mandatory penalties are available for repeat offenders.[4]

_Distribution or sale to minors_ of controlled substances is also a _Federal crime_. When anyone over age 21 sells drugs to anyone under 18, the seller runs the risk that he will receive up to _double_ the sentence that would apply to a sale to an adult. Here too, more serious penalties can be imposed on repeat offenders.[5]

By working with Federal and State prosecutors in their area, schools can help to ensure that these laws and others are used to make children and schools off-limits to drugs.

The following pages describe in general terms the Federal laws applicable to the development of an effective school drug policy. This handbook is not a compendium of all laws that may apply to a school district, and it is not intended to provide legal advice on all issues that may arise. School officials must recognize that many legal issues in the school context are also governed, in whole or in part, by State and local laws, which, given their diversity, cannot be covered here.

Advice should be sought from legal counsel in order to understand the applicable laws and to ensure that the school's policies and actions make full use of the available methods of enforcement.

Most private schools, particularly those that receive little or no financial a.s.sistance from public sources and are not a.s.sociated with a public ent.i.ty, enjoy a greater degree of legal flexibility with respect to combating the sale and use of illegal drugs. Depending on the terms of their contracts with enrolled students, such schools may be largely free of the restrictions that normally apply to drug searches or the suspension or expulsion of student drug users. Private school officials should consult legal counsel to determine what enforcement measures may be available to them.

School procedures should reflect the available legal means for combating drug use. These procedures should be known to and understood by school administrators and teachers as well as students, parents, and law enforcement officials. Everyone should be aware that school authorities have broad power within the law to take full, appropriate, and effective action against drug offenders. Additional sources of information on legal issues in school drug policy are listed at the end of this handbook.

SEARCHING FOR DRUGS WITHIN THE SCHOOL