I thought we'd start the week with a discussion of the new County-proposed drug and alcohol policy that was given first consideration at the 8/25 Board meeting. For starters, everyone should know that the proposed policy was developed by the Main County Board of Education (BOE) in coordination with Marin County Health & Human Services and the Youth Leadership Institute (YLI). According to the Board's discussion on 8/25, the County BOE has adopted the policy and is requesting local school districts to do the same.
I think all of us engaged parents would agree that serious, smart and sensible policy toward drug and alcohol use by minors is of utmost importance. Given the suspicion with which many kids view adults' attempts to tell them "what's good for you", I really like that the proposed policy was developed in conjunction with the YLI. According to the YLI's website, it has been it operation for over 20 years and is committed to "innovative strategies that encourage youth to examine the environmental and societal factors contributing to the issues at hand—whether they are unhealthy eating, substance abuse, or violence—and to develop programs and strategies that shift those factors."
So, after reading the proposed policy, and checking out the organizations involved in developing it, I think the policy seems quite well formulated. A principal focus of the policy is prohibiting the acceptance of "sponsorship or financial assistance" from alcoholic beverage companies at school events or school-supported events. This doesn't seem to pose any problem, except for a concern I've heard floated that, depending on how one interprets the policy language, adoption could make certain aspects of the annual auction party questionable, such as accepting donations of wine from vineyards or distributors.
In case you're concerned that the Board wouldn't realize this, don't be. At the 8/25 meeting, Board members postponed adoption of the new policy so that specific questions regarding the relevance of the proposed policy to adults-only, fund raising events (e.g. the auction itself and related parties bid on during the auction) could be discussed and resolved with County BOE representatives (and, presumably, with legal staff, if necessary) before formal adoption by our Board is considered. The Board asked Valerie to lead this research and to report back.
Beyond tabling a vote on adopting the policy until questions related to the auction party are answered, the Board also made a noteworthy proposed addition to the language. President Mangan noted that the introductory sentence of the policy references the use of "alcohol and illegal drugs." He suggested that kids' misuse of ostensibly "legal" drugs (e.g. antidepressants, anti-ADD, prescription pain meds) can pose as much of a problem as use of "illegal" drugs. He suggested the language be broadened to take this into account.
The likelihood is that the Board will get answers to its questions and be ready to vote on adoption of drug and alcohol policy at its next meeting on September 22. Your best opportunity to provide input to Board members between now and then is by sending an email to trustees@larkspurshools.org.
Hey Rob,
ReplyDeleteThanks for this update. I'm interested to hear more about the position taken by our board. It's a bit tricky because I would never argue against modeling responsible behavior to our children - even if they're 17. But I'll be the first to admit that I enjoy a glass of wine at a party.
I heard a rumor that there was a rather dramatic physical altercation between adults after the last auction (off-site from the auction, but definitely adults connected to the schools). Did any of this get mentioned?
On a different note, have you heard anything about the new CA statute that requires all parent volunteers to be finger printed if they're working with children at a school sponsored function and no certified staff is present? The cost $67 and who knows how many hours at the county sheriff's office. This could have a very negative impact on some popular events.I've heard that because it's a statute that each district will get to decide how to implement it. Curious what our board will decide.
Hi Cathie,
ReplyDeleteTo answer your questions, no, no mention was made during the board discussion about the altercation after the auction party. And, I had not heard about the fingerprinting. I can definitely look into it, though. Thanks for the heads up.
Hi Rob and Cathie- so I actually helped the COE with this policy and it's mainly about marketing, not consuming, alcohol. The proposed policy asks districts to be mindful about how their events are marketed. For instance, wine donations would be accepted, but you wouldn't necessarily put a thank you banner up at the school thanking the vineyard. It also talks about the naming of events (Totally Tequila Tuesday vs Mexican Night, etc). The materials for the auction come home in our kids backpacks, so we need to make sure they are appropriate. Frankly, I don't think it will make much of a difference for our auction. We are pretty good about all that. But there are other districts that aren't as mindful as ours.
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