After discussing proposed substance abuse policy updates, school board members last week decided to send it to the school’s attorney for review before adopting any changes.

An update is needed, assistant principal Brent Smith told board members when presenting the proposed policy changes.

“Earlier this year and throughout the year, I saw a need to make an update to our substance abuse policy,” Smith said. “There were some sponsors and coaches in concurrence and felt that we needed a policy that had a little more meat to it, a little more consequences and was much clearer to understand.”

Junior high and high school faculty members collaborated on the policy and Smith contacted area districts to see what other schools are doing.

“I collected policies in 20 other districts,” Smith said. “I distributed them to people on the committee and they looked through them. We found out what we liked and didn’t like.”

According to the committee’s recommendation, penalties would result in suspension of extracurricular activities, including athletic games and practices, clubs, and band and vocal competitions and performances.

The first offense is a two-week suspension, the second is six weeks and the third offense nets a suspension for the remainder of the school year.

Board members, who said they didn’t have a problem with the punishments, asked what constitutes substance abuse.

According to the existing policy and the recommended update, no medications prescribed or over-the-counter are to be in possession of students while on school property. The policy also forbids alcoholic beverages, tobacco products and other mood-altering substances.

Board member Rick Lamb said, “I just don’t know myself if I’m ready to bust a guy if a kid comes in with aspirin in his pocket.”

Board member Ron Moore agreed.

“You hear about a kid getting expelled from school for three days for having an aspirin,” Moore said. “I think that’s ridiculous. We probably wouldn’t do that here, but it could keep him out of practice for two or three weeks.”

Lamb said he thought school administrators should use common sense.

Tonganoxie High School principal Mike Bogart said the school makes exceptions.

“If we find a girl taking a Midol or an aspirin or something like that we’re not going to hang them,” Bogart said.

Moreover, he said, when students need to take prescribed medication they leave it at the high school office. When it is time for them to take their medication, students come to the office to take it.

Students participating in athletics or other school events away from the school are to give any medications to the coaches, teachers or sponsors who will be with them.

Board member Richard Dean expressed concern that this places a liability on the district.

“So if you’re on an athletic trip and the coach forgets the inhalers for the asthmatic, who’s responsible for that?” Dean said. “It’s going to be tough on a school district it’s going to be real tough.”

“Our kids do carry their inhalers to class and other places,” Bogart said. “We’re pretty loose on that now. An inhaler is an exception here.”

Moore then asked: “Well, then do you have a list of exceptions?”

Junior high principal Steve Woolf said he encounters similar dilemmas with medications at the junior high.

“I run into that several times a year,” Woolf said. “you think it through, use common sense.”

Board President Bob DeHoff said that’s a concern: “The point is if they write these rules too stringent and if we do that use common sense and are flexible then we’re violating our own rules.”