Drugs and Alcohol

Deerfield believes that the use of alcohol and other drugs by students is incompatible with school life. We have an educational program highlighting the problems related to the use of alcohol and other drugs, and we have a clear disciplinary policy about students’ use of alcohol and other drugs. Drug or alcohol use on or off campus is against the law. It constitutes a serious threat to the health and safety of our students. The Academy forbids the use, purchase, attempted purchase, possession and sale of alcohol and illegal drugs. Similarly, it forbids the possession of equipment or paraphernalia involved in the use of illegal drugs. Furthermore, a student who chooses to remain in a context where such rule breaking is taking place will be considered to have violated a major rule of the Academy.

Use of Tobacco

• Students are not permitted to smoke or chew tobacco while under the jurisdiction of the Academy.
• Guests may not use tobacco in any Academy buildings. Deerfield hosts are responsible for their guest’s adherence to this regulation.
• If a student violates these regulations, the first response will be 7 hours of work detail; a second offense will be 7 more hours of work detail and a follow-up with the Health Center; a third offense will include an on-campus suspension; and a fourth offense will result in a Discipline Committee hearing with the potential for suspension from the Academy.

Prescription Drugs

Additionally, the Academy forbids the misappropriation or misuse of prescription drugs. Misappropriation includes acquiring drugs from any source, including the internet, other than the student’s or the Academy’s physicians. Misuse includes taking a prescription drug or being in possession of a prescription drug that has not been prescribed for your use. The category of prescription drugs called psychotropic medications deserves special attention. Psychotropic medications include but are not limited to drugs used to treat attention deficit disorder, depression and anxiety. Psychotropic medications may only be used in strict accordance with the Psychotropic Medication Policy. Any student that is in possession of or uses a psychotropic medication in violation of the Psychotropic Medication Policy potentially violates a major school rule.

To assist in our effort to ensure the health and well being of our students, the Academy reserves the right to require drug testing when a faculty member suspects that a student has been drinking alcohol or using drugs. In such situations, a faculty member, or a member of the Health Center staff, or a security officer may administer a breathalyzer test or bring the student to Dewey House where a blood or urine specimen may be collected for testing. A positive test for alcohol or drugs will be interpreted as evidence of a violation of a major school rule. A refusal to take a test will be interpreted the same way as a positive test.

Drug Testing Policy

Deerfield Academy believes that the use of alcohol or other drugs by students is incompatible with school life. We have an educational program highlighting the problems related to the use of alcohol and other drugs, and we have a clear disciplinary policy about students’ use of alcohol and other drugs. Drug or alcohol use on or off campus is against the law. It constitutes a serious threat to the health and safety of our students. The Academy believes that drug testing can play a useful role in providing additional incentives for students to retain a healthy lifestyle by remaining drug free.

There are two situations where the Academy claims the authority to perform drug testing on students. The first is when a student is suspected, due to his or her behavior or circumstance, of being intoxicated or otherwise under the influence of alcohol or drugs. The policy outlined below, called Drug Testing for Suspected Use, applies to this first situation.

Drug Testing For Suspected Use

• When a faculty member suspects that a student, due to his or her behavior or circumstance, has been drinking alcohol or using drugs, a Dean of Students or his or her designee may administer a breathalyzer test or bring the student to the Health Center where a blood or urine specimen may be collected.
• Testing does not require the consent of parents.
• Collection of blood or urine samples will proceed in accordance with the Health Center policy for such sample collection. Blood and urine samples will be sent to an outside laboratory for processing and the results will be reported to the school physician. A Dean of Students will determine which drugs the testing will screen for.
• If the testing laboratory reports that a specimen has been diluted or otherwise adulterated, the test will be considered positive.
• A positive test for alcohol or drugs will be interpreted as evidence of a violation of a major school rule and the student will be subject to disciplinary proceedings. We do not distinguish between on or off campus use. Both are illegal and detrimental to a student’s mental and physical health.
• Refusal to take a test will be interpreted as a positive test.
• The cost of testing will be billed to the parents.

Prospective Drug Testing

The second situation is when the Academy feels ongoing prospective drug testing will be a useful deterrent to future drug use by a student. Such prospective drug testing could result from either an alcohol/drug disciplinary event or a general concern within the community that a student may be abusing alcohol or drugs based on a pattern of behavior, for example but not limited to underachievement or inconsistency of academic performance, excessive accountability points, or the inability to attend early morning classes. The consequences of a positive test will vary depending upon the reason for the testing. The details are outlined below in the policy called Prospective Drug Testing.

1. Prospective drug testing may be done as a result of an alcohol/drug disciplinary event or in the absence of an alcohol/drug disciplinary event whenever significant concern exists within the community about a student’s use of alcohol or other drugs.
2. Parents and students will be notified before prospective testing begins. It is hoped that parents will be supportive. Testing, however, does not require the consent of the parents or students.
3. Once determined, by a Dean of Students or designee, that prospective drug testing is required, Dewey House Staff (Health Center) will administer the testing. Collection of blood or urine samples or of expired air, in the case of a breathalyzer, will proceed in accordance with the Health Center policy for such sample collection. Blood or urine samples will usually be sent to an outside laboratory for processing and the results will be reported to the school physician. Which drugs will be tested for will be decided by the school physician or a Dean of Students, and may vary from one sample to another as they are submitted to the laboratory.
4. If the testing laboratory reports that a specimen has been diluted or otherwise adulterated, the test will be considered positive.
5. A positive test for a student whose testing is the result of an alcohol/drug disciplinary event will be treated as a violation of the student’s probationary status.
6. A positive test for a student not involved in a disciplinary event will be treated as a medical issue. A medical response will be designed by the medical and/or counseling staff to meet the individual student’s circumstances and medical and psychological needs, and may include a Medical Leave of Absence to allow for involvement in an alcohol or drug treatment program. Additionally, the student will enter into an agreement with a Dean of Students to remain drug free. This essentially means that a student who has tested positively for alcohol or other drugs will be placed on Disciplinary Probation for drugs and alcohol for the remainder of his or her career at Deerfield. A subsequent positive test would most likely result in an appearance before a Discipline Committee.
7. Failure to report to Dewey House upon request will be treated as a positive test.
8. The duration of the prospective testing period will be determined by the school physician or a Dean of Students and, under most circumstances, will not exceed a calendar year.
9. The cost of testing will be billed to the parents.

Sanctuary Policy: Admission to the Health Center Substance Use/Abuse of Alcohol or Drugs

One of the responsibilities of the Health Center staff at Dewey House is to aid students experiencing reactions to use/abuse of alcohol or other drugs. The Academy feels the primary role of the staff at Dewey House is to treat the student’s condition and not to act as an arm of the disciplinary process. Therefore, under certain circumstances, admission to Dewey House for drug use/abuse may occur without notifying the Dean of Students Office. Consequently, a student may request help in dealing with the adverse effects of alcohol or other drugs without risk of disciplinary action if any of the following conditions are met:

• A student comes of his/her own accord.
• The student is brought to the Health Center by another student.
• The student is brought to the Health Center by Security following a request by the Health Center staff (e.g. student contacts the Health Center which, in turn, calls Security).

At any time, but especially after curfew, since the dormitories are locked and alarmed, a call may be made to Dewey House requesting admission for a particular student under the sanctuary policy. Security will then be notified to escort the student to Dewey House. If a faculty member intervenes at this point, later verifying that the phone call had been made, the sanctuary policy is still in effect. Given any other circumstances, a faculty member comes upon a student under the influence of alcohol or other drugs, is obligated to notify the Dean of Students and the Sanctuary Policy would not be operational.

The concerned students who bring a fellow student to Dewey House will not be liable for disciplinary action and his or her identity will remain confidential. It should be emphasized that helping a fellow student who has been compromised by the effects of excessive alcohol or other drugs may be life saving.

The student must report to his or her parents the Sanctuary Policy admission to Dewey House. Additionally, school policy requires the student to have an assessment by a professional alcohol/drug counselor. Two follow-up meetings with a member of the counseling staff are required. Failure by the student to keep these appointments will result in the matter being turned over to a dean with the possibility of disciplinary action ensuing.

If during a Sanctuary admission, the student becomes unmanageable, such as disruptive behavior, suggests a threat to self or others, the non-disciplinary nature of the Sanctuary Policy will no longer be operational. In this instance Dewey House staff will report the specific facts to the deans who will implement the appropriate disciplinary response.

Additionally, a student found by a faculty member to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol may turn over names of other students similarly under the influence but whose identities would otherwise not be known to the faculty member. The student originally apprehended would go through the normal disciplinary process; however, a student whose name was turned in would be admitted to Dewey House without disciplinary response. The response to the student admitted to Dewey House would be identical to a Sanctuary response.

The primary reason for this policy is to create another means of helping students in difficulty and attending to medical needs first and foremost. When a student is found by a faculty member to be under the influence of alcohol or other drugs, the Academy has no alternative to a disciplinary response. Furthermore, in such a situation, the faculty member or dean is under some obligation to investigate the possibility that other students may be in trouble and in need of medical attention. Understanding the reluctance on the part of students to turn names over to the faculty when disciplinary measures would ensue, this policy allows students to get help for friends in need who otherwise might be left in a dangerous position.