substance abuse at or before school

phyllis williams · Sep 17, 2000

Originally posted by caulie111:
I would like to know the protocol when a student is suspected of substance abuse or admits to this issue. Once you feel that the student is under the influence you can not be sure how much was taken or what was taken and some have said a visit to the er would help in the matter to cover yourself. Then some have suggested only notifying the parents if it is a first offense. If the situation occurs again others have involved the police. Would anyone know the proper procedure that is followed in there school.

Caullie,

Does your school have a Student Assistance

Program? SAP has specific procedures which are designed to assist in early intervention

and assistance without stigma. SAP that my previous district used would use this as an opportunity to obtain treatment services for this student in lieu of suspension. This is definitely a cry for help, when a student arrives at school under the influence or the student admits to substance abuse. What are

your school district policy on this issue?

You as the school nurse can be instrumental

in assisting this student in obtaining the

services (substance abuse counseling)by

negotiating with the principal a plan that

would meet the need of the student and the

school discipline policy. Community Inter-

vention INC provide excellent training for

this process, ph 612-332-6537. National SAP

web www.nasap.org,they also publish a journal. You definitely would want this

student seen on the day of the incident, you

have more leverage with the parents on getting treatment. I had an assessment tool

but was unable to locate and the journal of

school nursing had several articles with

pertinent information.

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phyllis william

phyllis williams · Sep 18, 2000

Originally posted by caulie111:
I would like to know the protocol when a student is suspected of substance abuse or admits to this issue. Once you feel that the student is under the influence you can not be sure how much was taken or what was taken and some have said a visit to the er would help in the matter to cover yourself. Then some have suggested only notifying the parents if it is a first offense. If the situation occurs again others have involved the police. Would anyone know the proper procedure that is followed in there school.

The assessment tool that I mentioned in the first respond is in the October 1992 issue of the Journal of School Nursing. Contact NASN regarding a copy of this article entittled Identifying Substance Use An

Assessment Tool for the School Nurse.

MollyJ · Nov 18, 2000

I am a nurse that works in our drug prevention program in a high school and 2 middle schools. Alot of this depends on whether the student admits to being under the influence or not. Our school protocol allows breathalyzer testing. Some kids who reek of marijuana will admit it; others will just say they were around it. In our school, while I don't think it is a huge problem, I think we identify the tip of the iceberg of kids that are under the influence at school.

If a kid admits it or blows a positive breathalyzer either at school or at a school function, they are out of school suspended for 5 days and the school pays for an eval. This (eval) makes our district a little unusual, but it is a pretty strong consequence and _can be_ a wake up call. Most schools feel that having student under the influence negatively impacts school climate and they show intolerance for it. I also agree with the poster that a kid under the influence at school generally wants to be caught and needs a consequence. still, they can be cagey. Her nasap referral is good. I also attended a 3 day program/training this summer about student assistance programs that I would recommend to anyone--Student Assistance Training International. They don't spend a lot of time on it, but they give you some sample policies that schools can institute. If you email me, I would give you more info about this 3 day training, but don't have it with me right now.

Good luck.