"Foxborough to test for drinking in school; ACLU criticizes breath check plan" by Michele Morgan Bolton, Globe Correspondent | October 9, 2009
Foxborough school officials will battle underage drinking, not only by allowing the use of breath analysis at dances and extracurricular events, but by conducting breath analysis tests during the regular school day at the high school, if there is a suspicion of alcohol use.
Members of the School Committee informally agreed to the prevention initiative on Monday, and expect to ratify the measure on Oct. 19 as part of a new school improvement safety plan, according to Jeffrey Theodoss, principal of the high school, and Police Chief Edward O’Leary.
I say we TRY PROHIBITION AGAIN!!
“I feel bad when I have to tell parents their kids aren’t graduating or they’ve been caught with alcohol,’’ Theodoss said. “That’s not a fun part of the job.’’
Paul J. Andrews, director of professional development and government relations for the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents, said he knew of no other school district in the state using breath test devices in school buildings.
Last year, the town’s schools had about 12 incidents of under age drinking, both in school and after school, Theodoss said.
Chaperones and teachers spend too much time trying to discern if students are drinking, he said.
“A Breathalyzer just becomes a clean way of following through. And if we’re wrong? We will apologize,’’ Theodoss said. “I have four kids, and as a parent I would be more comfortable knowing this option is available.’’
And then face a lawsuit.
The principal said that officials will not conduct random testing, nor will they test everyone.
Kathi Meyer, a Plainville activist whose daughter, Taylor, died a year ago after wandering away from an underage drinking party in Norfolk, thinks the breath analysis option is a good idea.
“I would absolutely encourage that,’’ she said. “I can’t imagine a parent feeling it was an invasion of privacy.’’
While I feel for the woman, I don't see how a blow test in scholl would have prevented her daughter's death.
Related: Friday Night Football Killed Teen Girl
Isn't Foxborough home of the Patriots, too?
Maybe not an invasion of privacy, but a terrible idea, ACLU of Massachusetts staff lawyer Sarah Wunsch said. “If you observe a kid who smells of alcohol and is stumbling around, that’s probably enough to go on,’’ she said.
Breath test devices only drive kids to use drugs instead of alcohol so they won’t get caught, she said, “or, you will drive them away from places where there are parents observing them.’’
Yeah, GOOD MOVE!
Foxborough schools bought two digital alcohol detectors that register a blood-alcohol level almost immediately, officials said. A reading over 0.02 will test positive. Those who refuse the test will face discipline.
Well, the KID IS GETTING an EJERKASHUN about his LACK of RIGHTS in the TYRANNY he will be living under.
Anyone who tests positive must be removed from school or an event by a parent, officials said. A five-day, out-of-school suspension will result, along with a two-week suspension from extracurricular activities.
And what if you get a FALSE POSITIVE or the machine is not calibrated right?
And why two weeks? Kick 'em the f*** out forever!
Just let another kid try to take a drink!
Harsher measures come the second time around with a 10-day suspension, a hearing before the principal, or an expulsion recommendation, they said. Students will not face legal action from the breath tests.
Why not?
As in surrounding communities, underage drinking is serious business in Foxborough, O’Leary said. But, the perception that all students are abusing alcohol is wrong, he said.
That is why I AM CALLING for a return to COMPLETE PROHIBITION!!!
If the kids can't get their hands on it, they won't do it!
If it is GOOD ENOUGH for POT it is GOOD ENOUGH for BOOZE!!!!
The breath analysis plan is part of an overall strategy, he said.
What he needs is parent involvement, O’Leary conceded. “Actually, we need their support desperately,’’ he said.
Paula Bishop, the mother of a 10th-grader, sits on Foxborough High’s School Council, a group of teachers, students, parents, and administrators who discuss school issues. Bishop said her instinct is to support the decision to use the devices at school events.
“When you hear about someone being carted off in an ambulance, that’s frightening, as a parent,’’ she said.
But using them in school? “I’m not so sure about that one,’’ she admitted. “I need more time to digest it.’’
Ben MacDonald, 17, a senior at the high school, said a student who shows up drunk to school has a more complex problem than just being caught. While it is not that common to see classmates drunk at school, it does happen, he said. The real issue is at extracurricular activities, MacDonald said.
Leave it to Massachusetts to overreact.
“Showing up drunk to a dance is just asking to get caught,’’ he said: “But, if you have to drink during the school day, you need a counselor, not a Breathalyzer.’’
Deirdre Botsh, 16, a junior and a member of the School Council, said the breath analysis at school functions is OK. But not at school, she said
“I don’t think it would help much,’’ Botsh said. “If they’re going to do it, they’ll do it.’’
Yeah, one wonders how the rest of us made it out alive, huh?
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