Bedford School District officials reported a May uptick in high‑school discipline incidents, driven largely by alcohol and drug incidents, and the board discussed responses including mandated meetings with licensed drug and alcohol counselors.

District reporting for May listed these in‑school‑suspension items: 1 possession of drugs incident (1 day), 1 male/female fight (2 days) and 1 fighting incident (1 day) at Bedford High School and a total of five in‑school incidents districtwide accounting for five days of in‑school suspension.

Out‑of‑school suspensions in May were concentrated at the high school: three possession of drugs/alcohol incidents totaling 15 suspension days (the district noted such incidents typically carry 5‑day suspensions), two fighting incidents for six days total, one tobacco incident for one day, one physical harassment incident for one day and one under‑the‑influence incident for five days — an aggregate of eight incidents totaling 28 out‑of‑school suspension days for May, all at the high school.

Board members asked whether end‑of‑year patterns were typical; administrators replied that the district has seen relatively more alcohol use this year compared with prior years (based on the youth risk behavior survey) and said mandated follow‑up counseling with a licensed alcohol and drug counselor (LADC) is required for those referred, which helps temper suspension lengths.

Administrators also reported zero substantiated bullying incidents for May and described other disciplinary categories, including threat assessments and isolated Saturday‑school incidents at other schools.

No additional policy action was taken at the June 9 meeting; board members suggested district staff consider awareness or prevention efforts given the year‑end spike in alcohol‑related incidents.