Passively raising the bar
By AUBRIE GEORGE
The Cherry Hill Sun
11/29/2008

Schools obtain new tool in the fight against underage drinking

The Cherry Hill School District was scheduled to use the newly purchased Passive Alcohol Sensors for the first time at Cherry Hill West’s Harvest Dance last week, an issue that has been receiving praise from some and criticism from others.

“We’re nervous, but it’s a good nervous.” Jennifer DiStefano, the district’s student assistance coordinator, said. “We’re anticipating a very smooth transition.”

The district purchased 10 sensors to be used at school-sponsored events. The battery-operated devices cost less than $300 each and were paid for through a grant from the Safe and Drug Free School Program, a derivative of No Child Left Behind. Further costs will include sending the devices back to be re-calibrated once a year in June when the school year has ceased. DiStefano said re-calibration costs about $100 and will be paid for with the rest of the grant money.

There will be no extra staffing when using the devices, DiStefano said. Administrators at the events, as well as DiStefano and the director of district security, Mike Nuzzo, are already responsible for being on site during school-sponsored events.

A formal training session was held in the spring for staff members from each school who would be most likely to use the devices at events. There are now about nine administrators in each building who have been trained to use the device, and refresher training will be provided prior to each event, DiStefano said.

DiStefano said the device is easy to use and the process to screen is very short. It works with an internal fan that sucks in the vapor off the breath in order to detect any traces of alcohol.

“It’s just one button that you push,” she said. “You hold it four to six inches from the students face. I usually tell the students to recite their ABCs, and about halfway through, the device goes off.”

Other area school districts – such as Sterling, Washington Township, Burlington Township, West Deptford and Pennsville – have been practicing policies that implement the use of passive alcohol sensors over the past few years.

DiStefano spent time with the student assistance coordinator at Sterling High School, Jennifer Ivins-Elder, who took her through the protocol and policies during events where the devices were used. Ivins-Elder was scheduled to be present at the Harvest Dance last week to troubleshoot any problems administrators may experience using the devices for the first time.

“The feedback we have received from other schools who use a similar policy is that they have not received one positive test since using the sensors,” Susan Bastanagel, the district’s public information officer, said.

But not everyone in the community was completely on board from the start. When the idea was introduced, some citizens addressed the school board with concerns pertaining to student rights.

According to Robert Schwartz, chief legal counsel for the New Jersey Principals and Supervisors Association, the use of passive alcohol sensors is a form of a search, which is subject to constitutional constraints.

Schwartz said the use of the devices could be justified if the district can show that there is a need for it.

“A district would likely have to show a history of alcohol use necessitating the use of the (passive alcohol sensors) as a preventative or prophylactic measure,” he said.

According to the district’s Annual Violence and Vandalism Report, which tracks the number of incidents of alcohol use reported in the district, Nuzzo reported six incidents last year, compared to four in the previous year, where students were suspended for being under the influence of alcohol at school or school sponsored events. The district also considered statewide surveys and student health and risk behaviors, district officials said.

Schwartz said the likelihood that any district could practice random testing on the general student population would likely be ruled unconstitutional.

“Under current case law, using a PBASD randomly on the general student population would likely not withstand constitutional challenge,” he said.

District officials said that they are not going to practice random testing. They will screen every student before admission to dances, which they point out are voluntary activities. The experience of other districts in the use of passive alcohol sensors indicates that they are a non-intrusive method for safeguarding students, officials said. In the field trip setting and at the DECA Regionals, the devices will only test students who are showing symptoms of alcohol use.

“Students don’t have the right to drink in the first place because they are underage,” DiStefano said. “And because these are events that we sponsor, this is our policy.”

To help answer questions, the district put an informative video on its Web site, www.cherryhill.k12.nj.us.

DiStefano said that some students have thanked them because the use of alcohol sensors takes pressure off to go to a party before a dance or event and drink.

Linda Dombrowksi, who is the director of Cherry Hill’s Alliance on Drug and Alcohol Abuse, has been involved in implementing the program to ensure that the district and the township work together.

“Our goal is fun,” she said. “We want to provide these activities in a safe environment. We want to stop the myth that everybody is doing it so that we can eliminate peer pressure and students can come to these events and have fun.”

Dombrowksi said the mayor’s office and police department have been supporting the use of these devices. West parents who were unable to attend the parent education session held earlier this month are invited to attend a similar meeting with the East PTA, which is scheduled for Dec. 10 at 7:30 p.m. in the East Library.

Community members are invited to join Stephen Wallace, the Chairman and CEO of SAAD, for discussion based on his book “Reality Gap: Alcohol, Drugs & Sex – What Parents don’t know & Teens aren’t telling.” A presentation about the alcohol sensors will follow the book discussion. The event will be held on Thursday, Dec. 11 at 7 p.m. in East’s auditorium. Registration is free, but required.

For more information and to register, send an e-mail to Alliance@CHTownship.com or call 488-7889.