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| No Tobacco On Any NC School Campuses; Parents, Faculty, Students Included |
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Jul 29, 2008 |
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By REECE MURPHY and BRIAN HANEY Of the Record Staff
The Daily Record
You may not have ever heard of North Carolina law G.S. 115c-407, but if you have students at school and you use tobacco, you'd better be aware of it before you set foot on Harnett, Johnston and Sampson County campuses this year.
Not that the rules are hard to follow. In fact, the result of the law can be summed up in two words: Tobacco free.
Starting Friday, as mandated by G.S. 115c-407, all North Carolina schools must have tobacco-free policies in place regarding their campuses.
And local schools are ready to go.
"The policy is that no one can use tobacco on or in any Harnett County Schools buildings or any facilities," Harnett County Schools superintendent Dan Honeycutt said. "Campuses, athletic fields - anything that is Harnett County Schools is tobacco free."
And the policy goes for all North Carolina school systems. Like Harnett and Johnston counties, Sampson County has also been preparing for the change during the past year, putting up signs and trying to inform students, faculty and parents of the coming change.
Sampson County's Public Relations Officer Susan Warren said before the policy, "basically (just) students could not smoke at school." Their policy went in to effect July 1.
"As far as on campus, I don't think there was any policy," Ms. Warren said. "In the past if a parent was at a rec department game on Saturday afternoon (at a school), they could smoke.
"Now, with the new policy, they are not allowed to smoke on campus," she said.
But the ban applies not only to cigarettes, Director of Student Services for Harnett County Schools Jane Tart said.
"It's not just smoking, it's tobacco-free-totally legislation," Mrs. Tart said. "Any kind of tobacco, cigarettes, chewing tobacco, smokeless tobacco.
"Children model themselves after adults and when children see adults using tobacco products at ball games or anywhere on campus, then that says to children it's OK," she said. "We're framing this as a health issue, not a moral one."
Officials in all three school systems said if there are any problems, and they don't expect many, the problems will come at outdoor sporting events.
"(We are) informing all of our guests and spectators on what the expected procedures and policies will be," South Johnston Principal Barry Honeycutt said. "A lot of other counties have had this policy in place before now and I think most out-of-county guests will already have (an idea of the policy.)
"We have faculty members always on duty," he said. "Our SRO's (student resource officers) are also there. It will be the school staff's responsibility (to enforce)."
Still, Mr. Honeycutt says he doesn't expect there to be much of a problem even at games just because society has already begun changing.
"Over the years," he said, "you've seen less and less smoking in the stands. I think most people already do that anyway out of respect for others. I'm hoping that will lead to a smooth transition to this new policy."
Like Mr. Honeycutt, Triton High School's Athletic Director Chip Mangum said getting the information out and making sure everybody knows the expectations is the school's first clear step in putting the policy in place.
Mr. Mangum said their school had turned to other school systems that have had the policy in place for some time, such as Cumberland County Schools, for ideas on how to enforce the policy.
Like the other schools, Triton has sent letters to staff - along with lists of resources to help them kick the tobacco habit should they desire - students and parents announcing the policy in addition to posting signs on campus.
In another step, Triton has also printed cards stating the policy and thanking the smokers for protecting the health of the students. The cards are to be politely handed to those seen using tobacco on school grounds.
"We want to make this as people-friendly and non-confrontational as possible," Mr. Mangum said. "But at the same time, we have a policy in place and we want to let people know about it.
"We'll be making announcements during the game, and we'll have staff on hand watching," he said. "And hopefully it will be something everybody at the game will help us with; hopefully everybody will get involved.
Penalties?
So what about worst-case scenarios? What is the penalty for willfully violating the policy?
While the law does not provide for penalties, each school system is directed to develop their own penalties. Most have chosen to use a "graduated process," as Harnett County Schools Assistant Superintendent Phil Ferrell puts it.
For students, who have been banned from using or having tobacco products on campus for years, Mr. Ferrell said the penalties are the same, increasing by offense from reprimand to parent/child conference, to in-school suspension, to possible expulsion.
For teachers, who have up until now largely been able to use tobacco at many schools in designated areas, the school board is considering penalties much the same, though they have yet to be finalized.
"I'll just use examples," Mr. Ferrell said. "First offense, meet with an administrator, discuss the policy, encourage the person to use the health provider (to quit). The second time it could be a mandatory enrollment in a cessation program... a note in the personnel file. The third time a letter of reprimand. It could ultimately end up where a person could be terminated."
As with teachers and students, Mr. Ferrell said he doesn't expect there to be many instances of outright refusal to comply. But just in case, a worse-case scenario could involve the student resource officers getting involved asking the person to leave the property.
"We have no choice. It's board policy. Not only is it board policy, it's state law," he said. "But we'll use the SRO only as a last resort. You want to try to use good common sense."
In all, those associated with schools agree that the new policy is a good thing, designed to do anything possible to discourage students from picking up the tobacco habit whatever its form.
"Since schools are already teaching students about tobacco awareness, having the policy goes along with the position and reinforces what we're trying to accomplish," Mr. Ferrell said. "If we teach, 'Don't use tobacco' and we allow tobacco use on campus, we're saying, 'Do as we say, not as we do.'"
Content ? 2008 Daily Record
Software ? 1998-2008 1up! Software, All Rights Reserved |
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