Judge to decide on Motrin popping student’s sentence.
Updated 16 July 2004: Judge throws out punishment (at bottom of post)
Judge told school’s policy on Motrin may discriminate
On December 3, fifteen year-old Ysatis Jones took a Motrin to relieve her menstrual cramps. The Clay-Chalkville High code of conduct says that taking any drug is a major offense and they sentenced her to 15 days in alternative school as her punishment.
Dawna Hill, a Jefferson County school board hearing officer, testified that Jones’ offense was too serious for a sentence of community service.
For offenses involving drugs, Hill said punishment could range from community service to extended time in alternative school.
“Because of the severity of having possession of drugs, I did not consider community service in this case,” Hill said.
The severity of a case where a fifteen year-old girl takes an over the counter medication to relieve menstrual cramping. Remember that this is a medication that she is legally allowed to purchase, carry and self administer. There was nothing even legally questionable about her conduct. But this legal and proper action violated a zero tolerance policy and violating a zero tolerance policy is such a severe, egregious and heinous violation of the rules that they could not even consider sentencing her to do community service.
The family’s defense is based on discrimination but I don’t see how that is applicable. The same ridiculous policy is enforced regardless of sex or protected status of the victims students.
UPDATE
Judge throws out penalty for student who took pain pill at school
The judge ruled that the punishment assigned to Ysatis was too harsh, terming it “both excessive and unfair”. The school system still refuses to get a clue. Despite Ysatis already being suspended for a month and a half they still feel that she should have been forced into alternative school for her crime of taking a Motrin.
Phil Hammonds, superintendent for the county school system, said he was disappointed with the judge’s decision. He said the punishment was “fairly and conscientiously made.”
This is a blatant lie. The school was implementing a system of predetermined blanket penalties without any conscientious attention to the details of the case or any consideration of fairness. That is actually a decent paraphrasing of the judge’s decision.
Meanwhile the school still has options.
He said the board may decide to appeal, but that no action will be taken until he consults with school board members and other administrators.
As Hammonds notes, they can try to find a higher court that agrees with them that an appropriate punishment for taking a Motrin is a month and a half suspension plus two weeks in juvie school. That seems unlikely though.
Hammonds also said the judge’s decision does not prohibit the school board from seeking a different type of punishment.
I sincerely hope that this is just sour grapes and posturing. Can they really be this determined to heap punishments on this girl? Hammond is reacting just like a spoiled child who has been told to put away his favorite toy. He keeps finding different ways to try getting that toy back. How long until he throws a tantrum?
Hammond isn’t the only spoiled child on the side of the school. Apparently the entire board is covering their ears and screaming to avoid hearing Judge Brown’s message.
The school board’s attorney, Carl Johnson, said Wednesday he didn’t think any immediate changes would be made to the board’s zero-tolerance policy.
(Tip credit to Bettina)
The school’s code of conduct seems to be confusing medicines with illegal drugs. I suppose there might be some problems if one student provided another with a medication, but that code of conduct would seem to require a diabetic on an insulin pump to remove the pump while at school. (If “taking” is interpreted literally, I suppose the diabetic could get by with putting the pump on “suspend.”)
Someone should have asked a few questions before putting this code of conduct in effect. It shouldn’t be too tough to set out reasonable rules.
Tell me — does caffeine constitute a drug for purposes of this policy? Does the school profit from the sale of Caffeine laced products?
Jeesh! Home school. Then when you have cramps you can pop all the Motrin you want.
Tell them to screw their community service and alternative school garbage. Just get out of there.
What should she have done if she had cramps?
Where has common sense gone?
I assume it’s discriminatory because only girls get cramps. Maybe they just couldn’t find any other grounds?
That’s most likely the case, wolfangel. Unfortunately you cannot plead innocence due to the stupidity of a rule so they had to find some technicality to pursue it on.
Their larger problem is that even the family is working from the opinion that what she did was incorrect. In the article the mother doesn’t protest a punishment because her daughter took a Motrin, she only protests the severity of the one imposed. It’s going to be difficult to win when they’re so indoctrinated into the ZT mindset that they already agree in principle that the school’s rule is essentially valid.
The policy here does at least provide an opportunity to use some judgment on a case-by-case basis. School representatives do make mistakes. The amazing aspect to the story is that the school board has backed the decision to move a student into 15 days of alternative school for taking an ibuprofen. Serious brain cramps occur when school authorities feel they may lose the minutest bit of control. Chaos would inevitably ensue.
TT, you raise a great point. It’s OK that Coke and Pepsi pay for scoreboards and gain licenses with school boards to push their drug and sugar-laden stuff in the hallways of our public schools.
http://www.jesusphreaks.com/risk/archives/000173.html
Just read a story about zero tolerance going over the edge. I am so glad that I teach at the school where my 15 year old daughter attends. That way I can hang on to any medication she needs and…
I saw that the mother “understood” why her daughter had to be punished. I just refuse to believe that wasn’t taken out of context. How can the mother be complaining in court if she thinks “well, look, the rule is okay”?
A bit too far…
Just read a story about zero tolerance going over the edge. I am so glad that I teach at the school where my 15 year old daughter attends. That way I can hang on to any medication she needs and…
A bit too far…
Just read a story about zero tolerance going over the edge. I am so glad that I teach at the school where my 15 year old daughter attends. That way I can hang on to any medication she needs and…
Future generations will look back on all this with amazement. They will wonder why it was that Americans cared *so little* about their children that they were willing to abandon them to the “care” of school officials like this. More or less the way we look at the sacrifices to Baal-Moloch.
Speaking of Baal-Moloch:
http://photos1.blogger.com/img/111/943/640/moloch-kerry.jpg
As America slides further down the toilet these kinds of absurdities become the norm.
I would say that a better theory to work from is the right to an education without interference.
If you take the 2 items in this case, which one clearly interferes with this young lady’s education more? Cramps or Opressive Punishment?
Clearly, her taking a (legal) pill was the quick way to allow her to again focus on classes and her education.
And clearly, an oppressive punishment is not the way to have her focus on her classes. She (and the othe students) have the right to have a education that is not interfered with by drugs, and also not interfered with by punishments that do not fit the offense.
Scott, the problem with your reasoning is that anything that must be provided by another is not a “right”, as nobody has the right to enslave others. Even restricting myself to that part of your contention regarding “education that is not interfered with…”, my immediate response is the same as when someone claims that they have “the right to work in a smoke-free environment”: To wit, police do not have “the right to work in a bullet-free environment”.
I see half the problem stemming from the compulsory attendance laws (if proponents of public education are really so confident that they offer a superior product, why are they so opposed to the idea of people not choosing it that they must force it upon them?), and the other as the general “tolerance” of everything from irresponsibility to downright criminal behavior. In other words, thugs of all ages, from the prepubescent bully to the tyrant politician, run rampant only because the rest of us let them get away with it. We don’t say anything when it starts, we don’t do anything until the situation has gotten entirely out of control, and the “solutions” that most people reach for by then never address the underlying root causes (and usually just make matters worse).
Short of burning down every State-run school and salting the earth, the simplest solution - and the most principled - is to remove the compulsory elements of State education, by allowing people to “just say No” and to vote with their feet and wallets. But the State’s agents would rather die than ever admit in any way that their policies are immoral and destructive.
Judge shows some sense:
http://www.al.com/printer/printer.ssf?/base/news-8/1089902363247190.xml?aponline
Unbelievable bullshit. This is why my friends are going to homeschool their daughter.
“Go to school, become a criminal.”
At one time, it was thought that going to school would keep kids off the streets and save students from becoming criminals. Well, that’s not true anymore. I don’t know if this girl was charged in juvenile court, but there are now stories of principals who are only too willing to call in the cops for the most mundane disciplinary actions that were handled by them at one time. Why are they getting paid big bucks? They don’t have to exercise judgment anymore. All they have to do is hide behind “zero tolerance.” Kids are now getting criminal records for spit balls. A clerical worker could perform a vice principal’s duties today. How much does someone have to be paid to drop a dime on a kid and call the cops? Think about it.
My brother has a daughter in a private school. He was thoroughly disgusted when this story was featured on the news tonight. I guess you have to pay a tuition of about $12,000 a year to protect your kid from these idiots — either that or homeschool.
Public education is not worth it. There are too many stupid people in authority who are capable of destroying your child’s future forever. Placement in an alternative school is the end of your child’s academic career.
I hope this girl flips the bird to school officials and finds another educational venue.
We homeschooled for a number of years; my 10 year old didn’t start going to school till she came to Israel, and then she was required. In the end it was good; the laws are not as silly. I handed her, and her five year old sister homeopathic medicine to take for their car sickness; no problems with the school.
Schools are much more sensible here.
This story is actually making the former Soviet Union look good. What a nonsensical crock of shit.
When you say homeopatic medicine… you mean plain water, right? :p
I can just imagine a kid getting thrown out of school here for taking plain water that was simply labelled as a medicine.
Well, wasn’t there a story about a little girl who got in trouble for calling grape juice wine?
I can’t remember if it was on here or one of the other boards I visit.
Does anyone know how this got started? I mean, I was wondering if anyone knows exactly how to go about getting a judge ruling on something school related? I am trying to protest something and I am afraid I am more or less lost on how to go about doing it. If so, goth161616@aol.com please email me.