Editorial: High school should rethink drug policy

Many argue that drugs and alcohol are affecting high school… Many argue that drugs and alcohol are affecting high school populations at younger ages. But how far should school districts go in preventing students from using illicit substances?

According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, on April 23, Mt. Lebanon police cited Mitchell Klemencic, a Mt. Lebanon High School senior, for possession of drug paraphernalia off campus and after school hours. Whereas in most areas the police and the city’s judicial system would handle such situations, Mt. Lebanon police forward cases of drug and alcohol use to the school district. The district’s policy involves suspension from participation in extracurricular activities (e.g., sports, school newspaper, student clubs and school dances) if police cite students for drug or alcohol use, and all Mt. Lebanon students apparently sign an agreement stating that they understand this procedure.

Because of this policy, Klemencic has been barred from all senior events, including prom, senior reception, senior picnic and graduation. On May 23, he went before an Allegheny County Common Pleas judge, asking for an injunction to force the school district to not enforce this policy in his case. Judge Judith L.A. Friedman denied this motion based upon the argument that the policy does not deny Klemencic his right to an education.

But we believe the system of police collaborating with school boards to penalize students in school for crimes committed out of school is unreasonable. Although public schools and police departments are both government-operated institutions and therefore might be justified in sharing information, we believe school districts’ joining law enforcement in issuing punishment — in addition to citations served by police — translates to unnecessary consequences for alleged offenders and an overreach of power by the school system. In addition, Mt. Lebanon starts the clock on its 30-day suspension period when the police report a citation to the school district, not when the legal system decides a sentence. Klemencic will not even have a preliminary hearing until June 7, by which time his prom and graduation will be over.

When students commit crimes outside of school, we believe that the most effective punishment — and deterrent — for these crimes is through the legal system and not through schools. We think that decisions made by the legal system should be sufficient to penalize students who commit crimes outside of school hours, and a school code of conduct should penalize crime committed during the school day on school grounds.

Mt. Lebanon and other schools with similar policies should consider more nuanced and fair disciplinary systems. Punishing all off-campus drug- and alcohol-related violations with one-month suspensions before students have been sentenced in court seems unjust. These schools should consider adopting disciplinary systems that are similar to those common at universities, in which students are given a hearing before disciplinary action is taken and consequences differ based on the crime committed. For example, at Pitt, there are different consequences for underage students found in possession of alcohol versus those found to be “knowingly present” around students who are drinking. Mt. Lebanon could moderate its policy to be more just by choosing to intervene only in cases in which a student commits a violent crime or only after students have actually been convicted.

Another fundamental issue in this case is the purpose of the school. Although the school district does not take away students’ rights to their educations (students who have been suspended from extracurricular activities can still attend classes), it still suspends them from many of the activities that are arguably essential to growth. Because the ban applies not only to prom and senior picnic but to all student activities, students could be limited in their abilities to participate in meaningful activities. Try telling an aspiring musician that participating in orchestra is a “privilege” that can be yanked if they commit some crime outside of school — to that student, orchestra is surely as important as math or English. And although a month of suspension does not seem like much, it could be crucial to a student who is involved in a musical, sport or newspaper.

Although drug and alcohol use is certainly a serious matter, we hope that Mt. Lebanon will consider restricting its drug- and alcohol-related disciplinary action to those incidents that occur during school hours or at sponsored school activities.