Wellness subcommittee edits student substance-use policy, sends changes to policy subcommittee

The North Kingstown School District Wellness Subcommittee voted March 26 to revise wording and add notification language in the district's Chemical Health and Safety/Alcohol and Other Drug Use by Students policy and sent the edited draft to the policy subcommittee for formal review.

The subcommittee approved three procedural changes: replacing the term "substance abuse counselor" with "student assistance counselor" in the policy text; adding language to the second-offense discipline section specifying parental notification and that the North Kingstown Police Department may be notified; and forwarding the revised policy to the policy subcommittee for further review and public posting. The votes were taken by voice and the motions were approved.

Members said they wanted the policy text to match current practice at the high school and to clarify how parents and student-assistance staff are involved. Committee members raised questions about whether the policy's reference to parental "approval" for counseling referrals should instead be framed as parental notification in emergency situations and whether school administrators need discretion for prompt responses to incidents that affect student safety.

Subcommittee members discussed how the policy distinguishes immediate school responses (for example, suspension or contacting police when an incident is emergent) from longer-term interventions such as referral to the student assistance program, which the subcommittee described as nonemergent counseling that requires parental consent. The group agreed the discipline language should clearly describe parental notification for each offense and also make explicit that administrators retain discretion in emergencies.

The subcommittee decided not to adopt further substantive changes at the meeting. Instead the committee will send the draft to the policy subcommittee, which the committee said typically assembles recommended policy language, posts materials for public comment and forwards final recommendations to the full school committee.

Next steps: the wellness subcommittee will monitor edits made by the policy subcommittee and expects the policy to return to the wellness group for a final review prior to being sent to the school committee for consideration.