Last updated: January 2021

Under review: January 2024

Preamble

Our overall approach to drug prevention emphasizes promoting health and building strengths in students, with a particular focus on positive engagement in school and positive relationships with adults. As much as possible we want to promote responsibility by students, recognizing that the more we engage in policing activities, the more difficult it will be to win the students’ commitment to our objectives. At the same time, we need to recognize that not all students will be able to handle this responsibility and that a few who abuse our trust can undermine the safety and welfare of all. In our communications to students about drugs and other health risks we need to make it clear that their safety and well-being is our uppermost priority. Specifically, it should be clear that a student who has not caused harm to others and who is genuinely seeking help may confide in the school psychologist, a counselor, nurse, or other identified faculty without fear of disciplinary action. On the other hand, a student who has broken a major school rule may not use a precipitous referral to a counselor as a way to avoid disciplinary consequences. We must seek a balance between education, discipline, and care.

I Prevention

a) Every teacher and member of staff should consider it a part of his/her job to support the drug prevention policy and to take reasonable measures to help keep the campus drug-free. This shall include bringing to the attention of the nurse, a counselor, or an administrator any concerns about a student’s appearance or behavior which may be indicative of drug involvement; bringing to the attention of an administrator any suspicions based either on observations or reports of possession or distribution of illegal drugs by a student; participation in in-service training about drug prevention and drug education; participation in homeroom teacher or faculty advisor activities prescribed as part of the health education program.

b) The principals with the support of the health education professionals, the counselors, nurses, and other relevant faculty will ensure that age-appropriate and effective health education, including drug prevention education, is offered at every grade level. There will be explicit curriculum objectives, an outline of instructional strategies, including guidelines for the allocation of time and faculty resources for each grade level. 

c) Appropriate warnings about the risk factors relating to illegal drug involvement in our region will be included in orientations for new parents, and the school’s professional staff will collaborate with PTG members to facilitate open communication between parents and to provide regular opportunities to become better informed about drugs and other health risks.

d) The counselors, nurses, and health education professionals will keep abreast of current research on prevention strategies and effective health education programs, sharing relevant information at regular intervals with colleagues and making appropriate recommendations to the administration.

e) The administration will arrange for a regular assessment of the state of the student body with respect to health, high risk behavior, attitudes about illegal drugs and other forms of substance abuse, and the relative strength of preventative factors in our school community. This information will be used to direct education and assistance resources where they are most needed.

II Assistance

a) The counselors and nurses bear a responsibility as health professionals to decide when it is appropriate to hold in confidence what a student tells them and when the safety of that student dictates a report to either a parent or administrator. In the absence of probable risks to the physical well-being of an individual, the welfare of the student body is generally supported by trust which results from the knowledge that some adults may be confided in. Other faculty may be trained and identified to students as available for confidential consultation.

b) Every year administrators will inform Upper School students of the school’s drug prevention policy, taking special care to clarify the distinction between the procedures for seeking assistance and disciplinary actions. The members of staff who may be approached in confidence about drug-related matters should be clearly identified on notice boards in the counseling area and nurse’s office.

c) The counselors, nurses, and administrators will collaborate to monitor students whose conduct, academic performance, physical appearance, or psychological state suggest they may be at risk. At the level of "concern," information will be shared among the professionals but the privacy of the student will be carefully guarded. If the signs and symptoms accumulate to the level of "alert," meaning that performance is slipping seriously or behavior indicates a danger to physical or mental health, these professionals will agree to an "assistance strategy." Assistance strategies will include direct confrontation of the student and a conference with the parents. They may also include a referral for outside assessment or assistance, the design of an action plan within school, or the transfer of the student to another school setting more appropriate to his or her needs.

d) If there is reason to suspect involvement by a student with illegal drugs, parents must be informed. In such cases where there is no direct evidence but nevertheless strong suspicion, the reason for the suspicion will be shared with the parents and the consequences of having the suspicion confirmed should be underscored. Reasonable attempts should be made to support the parent in investigating the matter further and seeking professional help if desired.

e) The counselors, nurses, and other health professionals will maintain and regularly update a list of resources available to parents for counseling, drug testing, and medical evaluation.

III Detection and Process

a) When a teacher or administrator finds a substance which is suspected to be an illegal drug, the Head of School must be informed immediately. The Head of School, at his/her discretion, may file a report with the police, and the substance may be turned over to the police for testing. Concurrently, parents of any student involved in the incident will be called in for a conference, provided with a factual account of the investigation, and informed of the potential consequences should the substance be confirmed as an illegal drug.

b) When a student is suspected of being under the influence of illegal drugs at school, the student should be interviewed by the nurse, and the parents should be called in for a conference with the administrator of that student’s division. The administrator may insist that the parents have the child tested by a physician of the school’s choice with a report to be sent directly to the school.

c) When a teacher or administrator has well-supported reason to suspect that a student is in possession of illegal drugs, the administrator may conduct a search of the student’s locker, back-pack or bag, and outer garments. The student and an adult witness must be present during this search. If after such a search the administrator believes that there is still a likelihood that the student is concealing illegal drugs on his or her person, the police may be contacted and presented with the evidence, at which point they may or may not decide to pursue the search further. If the police are called, the parents of the student will be concurrently called, informed of the circumstances, and invited to be present with the police.

d) If an administrator suspects a transaction involving the transmission of illegal drugs involving a student, on or off school property, the police may be called and given a full account.

e) Teachers or administrators will not use coercion as a way of discovering the involvement of a student with illegal drugs. If necessary, the school may call on professional assistance in its investigations, including the service of professionals or the use of drug-sniffing dogs.

f) When interviewing a student about involvement with illegal drugs, a search procedure, or a disciplinary action, the administrator must take care to have another member of staff present as a witness. Notes will be taken to document the interview.

IV Discipline

a) Students who violate the school's drug policy ban will face an expulsion hearing, depending on the severity of the violation committed, whereby any behavior violating the German Narcotics Act (Betäubungsmittelgesetz) and/or related administration order and/or jurisdiction will be viewed as a severe violation. Any extenuating circumstances which would justify a more lenient consequence need to be clearly articulated to the family of the student and to any members of the community with knowledge of the case, possibly including a public announcement.

b) When considering the readmission of a student who has been expelled for violation of the school's drug policy, the Head of School will expect to see evidence that the student and his/her family have taken the situation seriously, that appropriate rehabilitation and counseling services have been accessed, and that the student has maintained a satisfactory academic and behavior record at his/her current school. A contract stipulating specific conditions for re-enrollment may be required. Re-admission will usually not be considered before the passage of a full school year.

c) Students under the influence of drugs on or returning to campus are subject to suspension or expulsion, depending on the severity of the violation. When considering the continued enrollment of a student who has violated the ban on drugs, drug testing may be required as a condition for continued enrollment. 

d) Refusal to cooperate with an investigation as outlined in the enrollment contract will usually result in expulsion.