By Nate Jones

Staff Writer 

Cape Elizabeth High School Principal Jeffrey Shed said more than a dozen times a year, a student is penalized for a violation of the school’s substance abuse policy, even long after school days end. He said students who violate the school’s policy on their own time are still subject to penalties for breaking the policy.

“Usually a parent or a student will come and say there has been a violation,” Shed said. “It triggers a two-part response, where the student is suspended from school and lose and number of games or performances based on whatever teams they’re involved with.”

Last week, members of the school board began wrestling with what Shed called a “tough philosophical question”: Does the school have the authority to penalize students for violations of school policy that occur outside school functions?

While Shed said there was “no controversy” over penalties incurred by several students who violated the policy during a theater performance at the University of Maine’s Orono campus last month by consuming alcohol, the issue of non-school activities is less clear.

“Anything directly related to school, we clearly own that,” Shed said. “There was definitely some interest in having the schools not participate in [penalties for non-school related activities] at all.”

Cape Elizabeth’s current policy – calling for both suspension from school and loss of co-curricular privileges – is largely similar to policies in South Portland schools, except it applies only to students who participate in athletics or other activities, said Assistant Superintendent Steve Bailey. 

He said the South Portland School Board has been working to revise its policy for a year, focusing on adapting the policy to the ever-evolving methods students are using to bring drugs and alcohol into school. He said one area the South Portland school board had focused on was how to intercept “lookalike” drugs – illegal substances students bring to school labeled as prescription medication.

“It’s hard to be a step ahead of the kids,” he said. “We just have to be vigilant.” 

None of South Portland’s policy updates would require a mandatory suspension for students who drink or take drugs outside of school functions, Bailey said.

“If those students are not enrolled in sports or those other programs there is very little we can do,” he said. 

Scarborough Assistant Superintendent Andrew Dolloff said Scarborough schools require a two-week suspension for students who violate the substance abuse policy. The policy does not regulate student activity outside school unless students participate in school or are involved with co-curricular programs. 

“It is only students in our co-curricular or athletic programs that we can hold to a higher standard outside of school,” he said. 

Dolloff said Scarborough school officials are frequently contacted by parents concerned about their child’s online activities, including postings to social networking Web sites and emails. The school frequently uses the Internet to collect information about potential employees, but doesn’t monitor student activity outside school, he said. 

“If students are emailing each other outside of school, that really needs to involve the police or the parents,” he said.

Shed said the school board was expected to discuss the current substance abuse later this month.

Staff Writer Nate Jones may be reached at 282-4337 ext. 233.