<p>Random drug tests at our local high school--but the school can only test those involved in extra curricular activities (you have to sign a consent as a condition to being involved in the activity).</p>
<p>Also, there is no expulsion for positive results. Oh, the high school can expel you for drug use, but not on the basis of the test.</p>
<p>School drug test info:
What</a> You Need to Know About Drug Testing in Schools - ONDCP</p>
<p>
[quote]
Results of a positive drug test should not be used merely to punish a student. Drug and alcohol use can lead to addiction, and punishment alone may not necessarily halt this progression. However, the road to addiction can be blocked by timely intervention and appropriate treatment.</p>
<p>When a positive test result has been reviewed and confirmed for illegal drug use, the school's crucial next step is to contact the parents and help them stop their child's drug use. Parents play a key role in drug-abuse prevention, so they need lots of guidance and support. They also need to know that anger, accusations, and harsh punishment could make the situation worse. The best approach for parents is usually to stay firm and to treat their child with respect as they work together as a family to change his or her behavior.</p>
<p>After involving the parents, school officials may refer the student to a trained substance-abuse counselor, who can perform a drug assessment and determine whether the child needs treatment or other specialized help. For young people who use drugs occasionally, a few words from the counselor or parents—coupled with the prospect of future drug tests—may be enough to put an end to the drug use. For frequent users or those in danger of becoming drug dependent, treatment will likely be necessary.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>I started reading the link from coolweather. It does have useful info</p>
<p>so playing detective (and having spent way too many hours watching the OJ trial) Did the school have a "chain of custody form" as proof that the specimen wasn't tampered with?? And was there "Tamper evident tape" used on the specimen jar and did your kid initial it??</p>
<p>There really are many legal issues at stake. PLEASE get professional advice.</p>
<p>I am so sorry, BayAreaDad. I don't have any information to offer, but I do want to offer sympathy. It does occur to me to ask whether you are sure the test result is correct; all tests can give false positive results. Has your daughter admitted trying the drug? </p>
<p>My older son is in 9th grade, so HS is new to us. But I am surprised to hear about the random testing. Is this common? </p>
<p>I agree with the posters who suggested talking to the administration first and, if you don't like what they have to say, showing up with a lawyer the next day. </p>
<p>Best of luck, and please keep us posted.</p>
<p>I agree with all posts above. Just to clarify though -DON'T have your d write a letter to college unless you are SURE the high school is going to report it to them. If HS does not report it on transcript or with phone call, etc, writing the letter to university could open a pandora's box of issues (loss of scholarship, revocation of admittance, etc.)</p>
<p>Hire a lawyer, get in there face immediately with HIPPAA and other privacy issues.</p>
<p>
[quote]
My understanding is that she will still receive her diploma from her private day school. However, I am not sure that she will be able to complete all her classes, since she will not be there to take her final exams. 4th year French, Bio, and Am Literature are at risk, to my best knowledge.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>It would seem to me that if she will receive her diploma, then she will finish her classes. Otherwise, why would the school agree to give her the diploma? I agree with others who say that the main question is whether the school will inform the college. If so, then I also agree that she should write to the college RIGHT AWAY to accept the responsibility for this. It will not have been the first time a kid did this at this time in his/her life. But a lot does seem to depend on all of the circumstances, so now is also the time for daughter to have a really long talk about all of this, with you, at the very least. Good luck. Let us know how it turns out; we are all with you!</p>
<p>We had a friend whose east coast private school son was expelled the week before graduation for a repeat drinking episode. He was allowed to finish his exams at home, and they mailed him the diploma later. Hope that helps!</p>
<p>Our private day school has a 0 tolerence policy for drugs and alcohol and every year a few seniors are expelled and it's usually right at the end of the year and none of the kids college plans were affected though the kids did have to send letters to the colleges explaining the circumstances. You do have rights though- good luck! It really will all work out. It feels like the end of the world but it isn't.</p>
<p>MY good friend's D was suspended for alcohol use the two weeks before the end of the school year, she was a top kid, great everything, but every one knew she drank and she got caught. The private schools usually have more leeway than publics with policies written in stone and the privates seem to want to keep policy integrity, but not ruin people's lives. </p>
<p>I am thinking you have a good chance with the admin of the superintendent expulsion, where your DD is allowed to complete her classes, but is persona non grata on campus. They have to keep things looking tough for the other kids, but they don't have to tell her college. Private schools are wanting lots of money for their services, they have too many kids caught drinking and with drugs (or they would not be random testing) to want to destroy the kid & family.</p>
<p>Do, though, look at this as a real teaching/learning experience for your DD. Recognise that even if the testing was draconian, even if the penalties are much harsher than alcolhol, what she did was illegal and better she is caught now than by the cops in college with a potential record, like the kids at SDSU.</p>
<p>On the diploma, private prep schools often have such a strong curriculum that most of their students have sufficient credits to graduate in 3 years based on minimum standards, so that would not be a surprise.</p>
<p>Can you find out how they have dealth with things in the past, I think it all depends on the mind set of the admin of your school. Do you know of any kids from prior years who were caught? Could you call them? I know a girl at my Ds school was caught with pot by public officers, she was expelled for the remainder of her junior year, back the next fall and on to a decent college, perhaps not as high as she might have reached but a nice small school. Good luck!</p>
<p>I've reread all of the posts and have been thinking about this. My conclusions are:</p>
<p>1) Get a lawyer.
2) Do everything you can to contain this within her HS and not let it get to the college. Don't make the college have to make a decision about her.
3) Find out what she has been REALLY doing so that you can address it before she goes away to college.
4) Aim a a solution that enables the HS to maintain a publicly tough stance without imperiling your D's college acceptance and scholarship.
5) Aim at having her emerged sobered by how close she came to disaster rather than convinced that it wasn't a big deal and she got away with something.</p>
<p>Once again, good luck and best wishes. I'm sure that many of us could unwittingly be in danger of being in the same position.</p>
<p>"I am surprised to hear about the random testing. Is this common?"</p>
<p>No it is not common, though it is not uncommon for varsity athletes (at least in our corner of the country).</p>
<p>I checked with our local PUBLIC HS and found that it has a "zero tolerance" policy, but .... Any student suspected of using a non-prescribed drug is automatically suspended BUT they are provided with private tutoring at home so they are not affected academically. This private tutoring would continue even if the drug abuse was eventually proved and the student expelled.</p>
<p>Wow, I'm really moved by the number and quality of responses. Thank you, everyone.</p>
<p>A number of helpful points have been raised, and I'm going to try to respond to most of them.</p>
<p>Regarding the diploma/credits issue, 1/2 of her course load were APs, which have already been taken, so I <em>think</em> we're good there. The other courses were arranged so that <fingers crossed=""> she has already accumulated enough points to earn a C or thereabouts. (assuming she cannot take the final). Not 100% sure on this as information is trickling in. </fingers></p>
<p>So my current best guess is that there are going to be a couple A's, maybe a couple Cs, and possibly an F. Again, we just don't have the full picture yet.</p>
<p>Thank you for the mentioning of finding out just what her transcript will say - that's something we'll look into on Monday. This is alot to get our heads around, in such a short time.</p>
<p>I'm sure you can all understand that I'm a little worried about violating her privacy, even here, and <em>especially</em> concerned, right now, about what do about the college situation. Don't like to even think about withholding information from, say, a college, but as it stands right now, I sincerely hope we just don't have to have that conversation... Ie. I'd rather they not know. </p>
<p>As background, there was a minor drinking infraction her sophomore year. Since then (recently), the school has gone from a "2-strikes-you're-out" to a "1-strike-you're-out" policy. Which was clearly communicated to all, and she was well aware of policy. And given that it's private, they do whatever the hell they want.</p>
<p>Which of course leads to the twin major issues: first, that it's a virtual certainty she'll be expelled, regardless of the timing. And which also means that pleading, etc. will be to no avail. I know the school....</p>
<p>And second.. There have been a number of very helpful and well-meaning comments regarding the actual substance abuse behavior. Please be assured that we are treating it as a medical matter and that ALL appropriate steps will be taken along those lines. I have a substantial amount of experience with recovery programs, treatment centers, etc, having worked professionally in that field in a previous life. I really can't say more along those lines...</p>
<p>The final point has to do with the legal aspects: yes, we have already spoken to attorneys who specialize in this area, and in all likelihood will begin legal action (ideally, gently persuasive legal action) on Monday AM. We feel that we may be able to challenge the school's decision on the basis that the "random" test may not have been so random after all. In fact, we have to conclude at this point that she was specifically targeted, having been an earlier offender, in the school's new crackdown.</p>
<p>Anyone with actual legal background who wants to weigh in on this, we'd much appreciate the input: is lack of "randomness" sufficient grounds to challenge? Note that in the case law, the various states (e.g. Indiana) have upheld random testing all the way to the state supreme court. We're not sure if a lack of randomness constitutes some type or harassment.</p>
<p>Your D is not the first to have gone through this, I am sure. Since she goes to a private school, it is really up to them how they are going to handle this situation. Their handbook is a first step. I am sure you are meeting with the administration regarding their actions. I suggest you find an attorney that is skilled with dealing with these issues, and I also suggest your get some names of some families who have gone down this route at the school to get a preview of what you and your D may face. This is all pretty much what other posters have told you.</p>
<p>One of my kids got thrown out of school senior year. Yeah, the timing was lousy, he was stupid, the school was not sympathetic in the least, and it was a horrible ordeal. If you want to pm me, I can tell you more specifics, but bear in mind that every school is different. A private school can pretty much do what they please is what I was told, and I had an excellent attorney. </p>
<p>Again, the situation with the colleges vary accordingly. Some schools require community service, the kid may enter on probation, a year's delay, a semester's delay are all possibilities. Some schools won't do a thing. The same goes for the scholarship. It is an individual thing. My son's school sent his transcript as needed for entry to college, and he ended up going P/F for senior year since he did not get grades for that last quarter. In his case, it was an improvement to what his transcript would have been. The school also requested/required that notification be given to his accepted colleges--he pulled this right before the May 1 deadline, so we had some leeway in picking a college that was not going to be as vindictive as others. Only one college had questions, and accepted our explanations. No merit awards or acceptances were withdrawn. Other kids had varying requirements, but no one got acceptances withdrawn, just conditions and delays. </p>
<p>Again, this was some years ago. and things differ depending on situation. </p>
<p>Also, I've known kids expelled for drugs in following years, and they are in their chosen colleges. It seems to me colleges are fairly lenient in this regard, as the colleges I know about include Yale and Princeton.</p>
<p>I am so sorry this happened to your D and your family. I can give you all the silver linings that exist, but this is traumatic at a time that everyone else is celebrating. I know cuz I went through this myself. It just about put me under despite all of the "good" things about it. My son went through a summer of substance abuse therapy, psychological therapy, family therapy, etc. Maybe some of the stuff sank in. If it did, it sank in slowly.</p>
<p>While my heart aches for the dad of this young adult, wouldn't we as a society be better off if these kids did face the consequences of losing their la-di-da college admissions for drunk and drug violations? </p>
<p>Isn't this acceptance the reason that these colleges all have serious problems with disruptive drunks on campus? Why are we rewarding this behavior? When there are plenty of top applicants who do play by the rules?</p>
<p>And, is this kid really better off if her parents lawyer up and get her into her dream college at this point?</p>
<p>As a Bay Area mom, I've heard that a number of the local private schools have some drug issues. It seems that there may be other past parents from your school that have had to deal with this. Is there a parent chat-board or something? If the situation is not generally known to the student body, perhaps you could put out an anonymous feeler. If this happenned to another batch of seniors within the last few years, they may be able to tell you what the school did in terms of notification, and how they dealt with the college issues. Does the high school have an obligation to notify the colleges even if she's completing all her requirements? If not, then it might be a privacy issue. You attorney can help with that. </p>
<p>Also, would the school consider community service as a remedy? Perhaps if you're daughter was able to put together information or a video on why and how to say no? Or maybe (if they're of a more punitive mindset) some grubby summer clean-up work? Just a thougt</p>
<p>Good Luck.</p>
<p>I don't think this family is treating it as lightly as you might fear. It seems that they are very serious about getting whatever help their daughter needs. At the same time, should she be so severely punished that whatever lesson she can learn, or therapeutic help she can get will turn into anger instead of a positive reaction? That would only make things worse, I would guess. While it is a serious offense, and she might very well be expelled from HS, her whole future should not be put in jeopardy for this. I think she will be able to learn a good and hard lesson from all of this, and then they should be able to move on. If the punishment should fit the crime, then let the High School and the family deal with it. My supposition, as a high school teacher, would be that the HS might not let her participate in the graduation ceremony, and might, in fact, expel her, but I would hope they will still give her the diploma that she earned before this happened. College should represent a brand new start. There will be enough opportunity for the young woman to prove she has learned from this.</p>
<p>I am sure nobody wants to reward the behavior. Our government says the goal of drug test is to prevent and treat. It's not totally the kid's fault. Kids have drugs because our society fails to protect them. Drug is a disease of society and the failure of our government to catch the drug distributors. Our state and nation leaders also have drug and DUI problems.</p>
<p>interesteddad, I get where you're coming from, but I don't feel like we know enough about this situation to say she deserves this harsh punishment. If we were to learn that this is a chronic issue with the child, the parents have ignored obvious signs, they're trying to buy there way out of the situation by lawyering up etc., I'd agree with you that this is a much-needed wake-up call. But I'm not there yet.</p>
<p>"Random" drug testing is not an uncommon consequence of a first-time substance-abuse infraction. And if a student is suspended or expelled, the family often has to sign a form consenting to the testing before s/he is permitted to return to school. </p>
<p>Such testing is "random" not in terms of the individuals tested (ie: not like random search at the airport where every 15th passenger is subjected to a more thorough search), but means that the targeted individual (your D) does not get notice of the test.</p>