Zero Tolerance NOT OK for Teacher

[Potemkin]

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/6245358.html

Critics decry drug charges against HISD teachers
As several employees await court hearings, opponents complain some allegations after campus searches lack common sense
By ERICKA MELLON
Copyright 2009 Houston Chronicle
Feb. 3, 2009, 9:38PM

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SCHOOL ZONE
Blogging Houston-area education

More than a dozen Houston school district employees are getting a lesson in the zero-tolerance policies typically applied to students as they await court hearings on drug charges that could land them in jail.

While most of the teachers are charged with possessing pot in their cars at school, a few face time behind bars after police said they found unauthorized prescription drugs in their vehicles.

Some of the charges, particularly those involving prescription pills, are drawing criticism from lawyers, parents and teachers who say the Houston Independent School District and the Harris County District Attorney’s Office need a lesson in discretion.

Norm Uhl, an HISD spokesman, said the district is treating employees as it would students — arresting them for having drugs on campus and leaving it up to prosecutors to file charges.

“We do have discretion to accept charges or not accept charges, but as officers of the court, it’s our duty to see that justice is done,” said Donna Hawkins, a spokeswoman for the district attorney's office. “And if an officer calls us with a valid charge and probable cause, then we should accept that charge unless there is some extenuating circumstance.

“We don’t discriminate based on whether somebody is a teacher or not.”
If a teacher — or any person — can show proof of a valid prescription, then they shouldn’t be in trouble with the law, Hawkins added.
Dogs sent to schools

For example, she said, the district attorney's office filed a motion to dismiss a drug charge against an HISD food service worker after he was able to produce a prescription.

Tom Shahriari, an attorney-turned-HISD elementary school teacher, called the district’s ongoing drug searches “a very wide and very destructive dragnet.”
In December, Superintendent Abelardo Saavedra ordered his police department to take drug-sniffing dogs to every employee parking lot. His order for the widespread sweep came after anonymous tips to HISD police led to drug arrests of 15 employees — two of them twice — from eight different campuses.

“I don’t have a problem with using the drug dogs,” said Shahriari, a fifth-grade teacher at Roberts Elementary. “What I have a problem with is using the zero-tolerance laws to make it zero compassion and zero common sense.”
One of Shahriari’s colleagues, a 59-year-old art teacher named Melinda Herrick, is suspended from the school and charged with drug possession in a drug-free zone. Herrick’s attorney, Kent Schaffer, said the former Teacher of the Year award recipient is accused of having two Xanax pills, typically prescribed for panic disorder, in her car.

“It wasn’t hers,” said Schaffer, who expects the grand jury to no-bill his client, meaning the case would be dropped.

District treated all equally

In the meantime, some parents at the school have launched a fundraising campaign to cover Herrick’s legal expenses. Roxanne van Ravenswaay, who is president of the school’s Parent Teacher Organization has a message for Saavedra.

“I understand his need to make sure he provides a safe environment for the children,” said the mother of two. “But if he is a man of honor and realizes mistakes have been made, then he should do everything he can to make sure he rectifies this.”

Uhl, the HISD spokesman, said the district treated all employees equally.
HISD’s new police chief, Jimmie Dotson, said he has not had a chance to review the drug-dog searches. His first day on the job was Monday. “I cannot make a commitment whether they’re going to continue or not,” he said.

Job concerns
Houston attorney James Fallon, who is representing several of the charged HISD employees, said police did not investigate thoroughly before making arrests. For example, he said, the prescription drugs found in the car driven by one of his clients belonged to his deceased father. Fallon said LeDarien Strauss, a 26-year-old special education teacher at Yates High School, was driving the car registered in his father’s name because his own car was being repaired.

“He’s the sweetest, kindest guy you’d ever meet,” said Fallon, the son of Houston Federation of Teachers President Gayle Fallon. “He’s not popping pills and then going to work.”

In another case, Hazel Jackson, a 59-year-old special education teacher at Woodson Middle School, is accused of having unauthorized blood pressure or cholesterol medicine, according to her attorney, Chris Tritico. He said she didn’t know the pills were there but thinks they belong to a friend.
“The worst thing that could have happened had she taken that medication is she would have had good cholesterol,” he said.

Tritico and Fallon said their biggest concern is that the employees could lose their jobs and licenses to teach even if they are not convicted.

[Ought Six]

Imagine their horror when they found that their stupid policies applied to them as well. But what really needs to be done, but will never happen, is to apply brainless, inflexible 'zero tolerance' policies to the school district administration and board members. Of course, if that were the case, those policies would have never been adopted in the first place.

[sandyd]

If a teacher — or any person — can show proof of a valid prescription, then they shouldn’t be in trouble with the law, Hawkins added.

Other than a friend or family member dropping their pills in your car (Or you take dad's car and his pills are it in), I don't see a problem. Either of those accidents can be demonstrated to be how the pills got there as well as get a blood test to show the teacher did not take any meds without an Rx.

How hard can that be to do?

[dreadstalker]

If it's in youir vehicle it is still leagally in your possesion. Whether you claim it's yours or not.

Zero tolerance is zero tolerance. That has been the mantra they have been parrotting.

All equal under the eyes of the law and justice is blind.

They sure cry foul when the shoe is on the other foot don't they.

[rc]

I kind of doubt if these particular teachers and lunch ladies were the ones parroting the mantra of zero tolerance.

Typically, that sort of parroting comes from higher levels of the administration and the school board. It sounds good at election time.

I suspect the teachers getting kicked out for having anti-cholesterol pills in their car are in pretty much the same boat as the kid who gets kicked out for having a butter knife.

[rc]

How hard can that be to do?

I doubt if there are too many labs geared up to routinely test for the presence of anti-cholesterol medication in your system. I'm sure it can be done. But since there has probably never been a person who has needed to prove the absence of that particular drug, there are probably no commercial labs set up to do the testing at a reasonable price.

[Ought Six]

Both the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers (the two biggest teacher's unions in the nation) have expressed support for 'zero tolerance' policies for students. This did not elicit any outcry from their membership. I somehow doubt they will be singing the same tune about those same policies being applied to teachers.

[sandyd]

Originally Posted by rc

I doubt if there are too many labs geared up to routinely test for the presence of anti-cholesterol medication in your system. I'm sure it can be done. But since there has probably never been a person who has needed to prove the absence of that particular drug, there are probably no commercial labs set up to do the testing at a reasonable price.

So it needs tweaking Maybe finding meds that are not dangerous can be a simple ticket? Just think of the possible revenue!

[rc]

Maybe finding meds that are not dangerous can be a simple ticket?

Nope, when you start doing things like that, it borders on "common sense", which is very much at odds with "zero tolerance". Under "zero tolerance", the penalty for having an aspirin is the same as shooting up heroin. It makes enforcement much easier, because we don't have to answer annoyingly difficult questions like, "is one aspirin really that big a deal?"

[rc]

Incidentally, for those who are in favor of guilty until proven innocent--I mean requireing the person in question to "show a prescription": Any time that I've taken a prescription medication, I no longer have a prescription to show anyone. I gave it to the pharmacist.

God forbid if the pharmacist lost it--then I guess I'd be going to jail.

[Ought Six]

I think what they want to see it the bottle for the medication with the prescription information on the label.

[rc]

Yep, so the kid who is taking narcotics needs to print a label saying that the bottle contains ingrown toenail pills, and he's OK. But the kid who is takes a single prescription pill to school and leaves the bottle at home where it's safe gets expelled.

Yep, these zero-tolerance rules sure make life easy for administrators. It takes away all of the difficult decision making.

[rc]

Both the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers (the two biggest teacher's unions in the nation) have expressed support for 'zero tolerance' policies for students. This did not elicit any outcry from their membership. I somehow doubt they will be singing the same tune about those same policies being applied to teachers.

Fortunately, they'll still be able to set an example by sending the lunch lady to jail. She doesn't have a union, so we'll still be able to exercise "zero tolerance" with at least some of the staff.

[rb.]

Originally Posted by rc

Yep, so the kid who is taking narcotics needs to print a label saying that the bottle contains ingrown toenail pills, and he's OK. But the kid who is takes a single prescription pill to school and leaves the bottle at home where it's safe gets expelled.

Not in our school. My 13 year old DD is currently breaking the zero tolerance drug policy because she has two ibuprofen caplets hidden in her lunch bag. I got tired of getting calls from her that she had a headache, and I had to drive to the school to give her a pill. What's even worse is that, gasp, gasp, she gave one to a classmate that had a bad headache. Should we be found out we're all in deep doo doo.

Zero tolerance policies are for cowardly school administrators that don't want the responsibility of making decisions the average person would have no difficulty making. But they still want the money and title.