Schools crack down on student medicine

Friday, April 23, 2004 | 11:04 a.m.

Students who bring cold pills, Tylenol or or other over-the-counter drugs to school could face tougher punishments under a new discipline policy that won first-round approval Thursday from the Clark County School Board.

The policy calls for students who possess, use or sell any drug -- including nonprescription medications that are otherwise legal for them to possess -- to be suspended pending an investigation.

The district's prior drug policy did not specifically address over-the-counter medications.

Students would be allowed to carry nonprescription medicines with them provided they have parental permission, according to the new policy. A second, final vote on the proposed regulation change will be held May 13.

Even with a parent's permission to carry the medicine, it would still be a violation of policy for students to share the medicine with anyone else, said Edward Goldman, associate superintendent of educational services, who wrote the regulation.

Students sharing medicine with friends has become a dangerously common practice, Goldman said. There have been several instances where students have become ill after accidentally overdosing on over-the-counter medicines or experienced allergic reactions, Goldman said.

"A kid has a headache and the friend says, 'Have a pill,' " Goldman said. "Then the kid says, 'One was good, five is better.' "

Carolyn Edwards, a member of the board of directors of Nevadans for Quality Education, said she met with Goldman to discuss an earlier version of the regulation which called for an automatic expulsion for violations.

"We don't want punishments to be automatic, especially since it's not illegal for high school students to have over-the-counter medicine," said Edwards, whose organization makes policy recommendations to the School Board, lawmakers and the Nevada Department of Education. "Especially for first-time offenders, where there's no intent to do harm, there should be some leeway."

Clark County Schools Superintendent Carlos Garcia said the new policy clears up any confusion about the total ban on students bringing or using drugs on campus. At the same time it gives principals flexibility to assess the situation before recommending discipline.

"We are providing a lot of flexibility for the principals to use common sense," Garcia said. "Zero tolerance is great but there things that sometimes get blown up out of proportion."