Round Rock ISD proposes school-based 'first offender' diversion program for students caught with THC products

Round Rock ISD officials outlined a proposed school-based First Offender diversion program on Jan. 7 designed to keep students who are caught with THC products out of the juvenile-justice system if they voluntarily complete an educational and support program.

Chief Ryan O'Ruthia told the board the district has entered into an agreement with the Williamson County Juvenile Justice Board to offer prevention-intervention-enforcement programming for students who are found in possession of THC vapes or other THC products on campus. "This is really an exciting program because it's going to offer our students a way to recover from mistakes they have made for possession of THC substances on our campuses," the chief said.

Under the model Chief O'Ruthia described, eligible students and a parent or guardian may voluntarily enroll in classes administered through the juvenile-justice center and the program partner network. Program components described by the chief include a healthy-lifestyle educational course, counseling or referrals to mental-health resources, periodic check-ins with the campus school resource officer, and a required 500‑word reflective essay about what the student hopes to learn. If students complete the program, district and juvenile-justice partners present the disposition to the board and the case is dismissed and does not appear on the juvenile record, the chief said.

District staff said the program is focused on THC products; nicotine vapes are handled through a separate teen-court process. The juvenile-justice board established eligibility and disposition rules for these programs under the Texas Family Code, officials said. The chief added that courses are offered in English and Spanish and that the juvenile-justice center will provide translation accommodations for other languages.

Trustees asked several operational questions. Trustee Amy Weir asked what happens if a parent or guardian refuses to participate; the chief said the juvenile-justice board will work with guardianship authorities, Child Protective Services or a surrogate parent when appropriate, and that community volunteers can serve as representatives in some cases. Trustees asked about testing and cost: staff said the district uses presumptive field tests (costs paid for by the district for field kits) and that DPS laboratory confirmation is requested only at the prosecutor's request, so the district's outlay is limited to field-test kits.

Trustees requested data collection plans. Chief O'Ruthia said the program will track completion and reoffense rates and return to the board with one- and two-year outcome reports. The chief offered historical context from his prior work: in countywide first-offender programs he cited a roughly 70% non-reoffense rate (i.e., about 30% reoffended) and expected the school-based model to have higher success because of daily SRO contact and support.

What’s next: Trustees heard the proposal and asked questions; the presentation did not include a formal board action to adopt a local policy that would change discipline processes. District staff said they will gather more detail on surrogate-parent processes and return data to the board after program launch and evaluation.