Schools

Gibson Says There Needs to Be Consequences For Drug Offenders

Hunter Mill school board rep: "We don't want kids to think it OK to bring drugs to school."

Hunter Mill School Board member Stuart Gibson says too many changes to the Fairfax County Public School's drug policy sends the message that the school system will tolerate drug use.

Gibson's remarks came at a school board discussion on Monday about re-examining and revamping the school system's disciplinary process.

“Are we going to a full-tolerance system?” Gibson asked board members.

Find out what's happening in Restonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Gibson expanded on those comments in an interview on Tuesday.

"If you , we will be sending kids back to school with no consequences," he said. "When you make a mistake, there needs to be consequences. Are we so concerned with protecting people who make mistakes, that there are no consequences?"

Find out what's happening in Restonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

At the discussion, school board members Sandra Evans and Tina Hone disagreed with Gibson. Evans said she had not heard any member call for a no-consequences approach to marijuana. Hone said it is time for reform.

“I think it’s time for this pendulum to swing a bit,” she said.

Said Gibson: "There are a couple of people on the board who think [policies] are too harsh. The rest of us are OK with where we are. If you are bringing drugs to school, it is likely you are not some innocent lamb who looked in your pocket and say drugs there. What message are we sending if we say 'this is not that serious?' "

Gibson did say, however, he is in favor of recommendations that principals should have the discretion to differently treat students who are found with their own prescriptions and no intent to distribute.

The board the board is holding to re-examine what some citiznes call a Zero Tolerance Policy in the wake of the suicide of Woodson student in the midst of a suspension for suspected drug use.  There was a similar case with South Lakes student Josh Anderson, who took his own life  in 2009.

The Virginia Department of Education data (above right) shows in 2009-10 Fairfax County expelled four students, an 80 percent decrease since 2005-06; and assigned long-term suspension (10 days or more) to 128 students, a 69 percent decrease.

Monday's proposal said students should be be out of school a reduced number of days while awaiting decisions in their discipline cases. Superintendent Jack Dale's new proposal reduces the time from an average of 20 school days to 10 or fewer for initial infractions.

Other proposed changes include shortening the disciplinary process, making audio recordings of hearings and giving principals more leeway in cases involving students who fail to follow policies for prescription drugs.

 The board also asked Dale to re-examine limits on the use of forced school transfers as punishments and the speed of parental notification when students are questioned.

Dale also suggests automatic referral to a child study team for students suspended more than five days. The team of mental health professionals could assess whether a student needs counseling or other services.

The board discussed the issue of how much discretion principals would get in making decisions about discipline cases in their schools. 

Gibson says he is in favor of the proposals such as psychological evaluation and support services while a student is on suspension.

"We need more outreach," he said Tuesday. "These sort of things get to the heart of the problem."

The board will have further discussions on the topic on May 16.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here