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Last Updated: Jan 31st, 2007 - 10:58:43 |
Longview schools eye stiffer tobacco rules
Nov 15, 2006, 17:06
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Longview School Board officials discussed new strategies Monday evening to keep students away from cigarettes and snuff, and Deputy Superintendent Mark Rosin went so far as calling tobacco the "gateway drug." Rosin suggested the board modify the district's contraband policy to allow students caught with tobacco products on campus to enroll in smoking cessation classes rather than face suspension. The board did not take action on the policy change but agreed to discuss it again during a future board meeting. "That is an opportunity for kids to change their behavior, not just get punished," Superintendent Nick Seaver said. Classes to help smokers quit are offered to the public through the Cowlitz County Health Department, and students would attend them after school, Rosin said. If enough students enroll in the classes, district officials might offer a course on school grounds, but "very few" students are suspended for bringing tobacco products to school, he added. For about the past 15 years, the district has allowed students caught with alcohol at school to avoid suspension by taking similar classes, Seaver said. "We now have an opportunity to line up the tobacco work with the alcohol work," Rosin said. The board's vice president, Jennifer Leach, told Rosin she would like to know more information about how effective the classes are at getting students to quit. Board member Gary Slyter said it is important that tobacco education reaches young people, who might be easily swayed by the tobacco industry's claim that cigarettes aren't addictive. "They may never be able to quit," he said.
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