VA girl gets 2-week suspension for pills...

[rbell]

...Birth control pills.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/04/AR2009040402591_pf.html

Obviously, if there's a need for them, then she's not doing what she should.

But that isn't the point of this post.

From the article:

If she had been caught high on LSD, heroin or another illegal drug, she found, she would have been suspended for five days. Taking her prescribed birth-control pill on campus drew the same punishment as bringing a gun to school would have.

This simply shows the idiocy of our school leaders, and their brainless adherence to "zero-tolerance" policies. They're too stupid and spineless to evaluate and make judgements...so they come up with stupidity such as this.

What a bunch of morons.

 

[annsni]

OK - it is very simple in the next cycle to change the time of day that one takes the pill. Don't want to have to take it at school? Just start taking it in the morning. It's really pretty simple.

I do think the school is overeacting to this - especially if the punishment is harsher than if she had LSD on her instead.

And just an aside - not every teen takes birth control pills as birth control. It's also a valid medication for cycle related irregularities. I went on the pill at 19 - 8 months before I was married and became sexually active since my cycle was non-existent at the time. That was the standard treatment and still is for irregular cycles. In this case (in the OP), there's a boyfriend involved who helped to make the decision so I do think that it's a case of promiscuity but not all are - just wanted to let some of you know.

 

[annsni]

sorry - double post

 

[annsni]

triple post

 

[matt wade]

I'm not in agreement with the rule, but the student knew she was doing something she wasn't supposed to be doing:

According to school policies, her pills should have been kept in the school clinic. But the student said she did not see the logic in making a special trip to see the nurse, a relative stranger, each day during her 25-minute lunch break. She preferred to take the pill on her own. She tried to be discreet but she got caught.

So, she knew the rule and made a decision to break the rule. She got caught and she gets punished. Not a story here.

Of topic, but this is the most concerning part of the story to me:

The teenager said she started taking birth-control pills over the summer, a decision made with her mother, her boyfriend and a doctor.

 

[rbell]

I'm not in agreement with the rule, but the student knew she was doing something she wasn't supposed to be doing:



So, she knew the rule and made a decision to break the rule. She got caught and she gets punished. Not a story here.

Agreed. My point is, though, that in the lunacy of "zero tolerance," a birth-control pill gets more grief than LSD. How stupid is that?

 

[matt wade]

Agreed. My point is, though, that in the lunacy of "zero tolerance," a birth-control pill gets more grief than LSD. How stupid is that?

Well, from reading the article, I'm not sure that is true. We may be comparing two different infractions.

The first is the possession of a controled substance (the pill) and the second is the act of being intoxicated on a substance. By the wording of the article it says, "If she had been caught high on LSD" it would result in 5 days. I suspect that possession of LSD would result in a harsher penalty more in line with the 2 weeks.

I actually just looked in the handbook for this school district and I am correct. Here's the relevant parts:

Here's what she violated:

Possession of a controlled substance, marijuana, an imitation controlled substance, or imitation marijuana while on school property or at a school sponsored activity shall result in a ten-day suspension from school
and recommendation for expulsion.

And here's what they are quoting, which is misleading:

The first violation for being under the influence of marijuana or any
controlled substance including anabolic steroids, or for the illegal use of
prescription drugs, or for possession of drug paraphernalia shall result in
suspension from school for a minimum of five days and a maximum
of ten days and suspension for 30 calendar days from all student
activities, including teams, clubs, and all other school-sponsored
activities.

So, being under the influence (on the first offense) is a lighter sentence than possession, but if she had possessed LSD she would have been subject to 10 days...the same as the pill.