New Drug and Alcohol Policy for Reading Students

students will soon adhere to a new drug and alcohol policy. The new policy will start the day school ends in June this year. 

According to Superintendent John Doherty, the former policy and regulations follow the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletics Association (MIAA) format for athletes, which is common in most school districts. However, the MIAA guidelines also allow schools to integrate more specific and strict guidelines, which the Reading school system has decided to do.

The policy is for students involved in any extra-curricular activity or sport, not just athletes like the former policy. So any student in the band, drama club, student council, or any other extra-curricular activity will have to follow the rules in the new policy.

According to Doherty, the policy differs from the previous one in several different ways:

• The new policy lists the different categories of drugs, alcohol and tobacco. It is more specific and lists all of the possible types. "The purpose of putting the list in is so that there is no doubt in anyone’s mind what we are talking about," Doherty said. "That list will change as trends change and we will review it annually to make sure that our list is up to date and complete.”
• The actual regulations begin from the moment that a student graduates from middle school until their last day as a high school student or their last event, whichever is later. It also includes summers.
• There is an education component for students that violate the policy for the first time. Students will have to complete a health education class or counseling session or other approved program by the principal. They will have to show that they have completed that program before they are reinstated back into the athletic curriculum.
• If a student violates a policy during a certain season, then the consequences begin during that season. For example, if a student violates the policy during basketball season, then their consequences will take place during basketball season. There was a loophole in the previous policy, which allowed students playing only one sport to try out for another sport and deal with their consequences during that season. For example, if a student plays only lacrosse, and violated the policy during lacrosse season they could try out for a fall sport so they wouldn’t get penalized in the lacrosse season. That will not be allowed under the new policy.

"Those are the main changes,” Doherty said. "It really tightened up the regulations really well.”

There was a lot of effort shown by the community, School Committee and police to create this policy. The first policy was read at a School Committee meeting and a lot of changes were suggested and made before the second and final policy was read.

"Within the next couple of months we will be educating the students on the different changes and what this means," Doherty said.

The new policy will be mailed home and students will be told about the changes during assemblies, an open house in the spring and move up day.