<p>13 seniors from Newbury Park High School suspended and barred from walking at graduation this weekend after failing a Breathalyzer test at prom. Parents crying foul and asking for alternative punishment. </p>
<p>This school district has a exceedingly clear-cut policy about drug and alcohol use. District annually sends out a Policy handbook to every registered family and parents must sign a paper every year saying they understand the districts policies. Note the parent who actually admits to serving alcohol. How dumb is he. Paper fails to mention that there is a city ordinance that prohibits adults from serving underaged persons alcohol, and will fine any homeowner found to have done so. I think the kids should suck it up and maybe they will know better than to flaunt rules the next time around (like at college).</p>
<p>No kidding Chedva! My kid would not live that down for about 15 years. But note that the parent doing the serving actually said the other parents went along with it. Guess peer pressure continues on even into your 40’s! You wouldn’t want to be considered the ‘square parent’ after-all.</p>
<p>That happened at our HS a few years back. The seniors who couldn’t walk were the* lucky *ones. The juniors had to spend the first 6 weeks of their senior year in the alternative school…and miss out on the first 6 weeks of their fall sport.</p>
<p>32 kids who participated in the champagne toast, 13 suspended. Did the other 19 pass the test?</p>
<p>The punishment for this infraction is 5 days suspension. Graduation falls within the 5 days suspension period, which seems to be the only reason the kids won’t be allowed to walk at graduation. </p>
<p>If the punishment for the alcohol violation was that the student would not be able to walk at graduation, then I would support the school. But in this case, it is only the timing of the suspension that will keep these kids from walking at graduation. </p>
<p>I think the school should not hide behind a timing issue. If the penalty for this alcohol violation is that the kids will not be able to walk at graduation, then say so explicitly. If it is just a timing issue, then they should allow the kids to walk.</p>
<p>I think that the parent who gave out glasses of champagne is guilty of contributing to the delinquency of minors. I don’t believe that it was only for a picture, also why would he want a picture of the teens drinking? If it was innocent he could have given them glasses of Martinelli’s juice for a picture. But he gave them alcohol, which gave them the message that alcohol is a good thing. They then drank and smoked pot on the bus.</p>
<p>I would not allow my child to appeal, and she would not walk at graduation.</p>
<p>Knowing how high schools are so hyper about alcohol at prom, it is hard to believe that a parent gave a glass of champagne to the 32 kids! Stupid, stupid, stupid!!!</p>
<p>ellemenope, good point. The suspension falls within the time frame of mandatory graduation practice. You don’t make it to the practices, you don’t get to walk. Guess the parents/kids should have done some calculating with the calendar before they took that champagne sip.</p>
<p>Sounds like we’re all pretty much in agreement here. Respect for authority is an important lesson–don’t want these kids to end up as disrespectful 72 year-olds and being tazered!</p>
<p>The parents OKed this pre-prom alcoholic toast. They don’t have the clean hands in this story to say they will do nothing to assist their kids in escaping consequences.</p>
<p>Unfortunatley 07Dad that is the name of the game in so many parts of our area. Parents come flying to their children’s defense, even when their child is clearly in the wrong. I know of parents who have attorneys step in when their child has been caught blatantly cheating. District didn’t care to waste the resources fighting with the parent, so the cheating was swept under the rug.</p>
<p>I don’t follow your argument, ellemenope. Yes, parents were wrong, but they don’t have the authority to over-ride the school’s decision. They can look at this as punishment for both the students and the parents.</p>
<p>Well, I don’t want anyone to think down in Texas we were picking on the tazer lady. We believe in “the law.”</p>
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<p>I lost a life-long friend when I told him I [an attorney] would not get involved in trying to “fix” a citation for his HS son who had been picked up drinking underage in HS for the third time. </p>
<p>I know supporting the concept of rules and consequences for your kids seems to be very “out” among many parents. My kid got into trouble at his private HS which could have lead to him being expelled. At a point in the conversation with the school official who was in charge of explaining the disciplinary procedures to me, he said that I was the first parent that he had dealt with in three years that did not attempt to “argue” their kid out of trouble.</p>
<p>Parents were wrong and their mistake made for lots of trouble for the kids. My point is not that school’s decision should be over-ridden per se, but that a parent who did wrong can’t sit back and say, “You did wrong and now you’re going to pay for it” without trying to undo the damage that the parents themselves caused. Should kids be held accountable for the sins/stupidity of the parents?</p>
<p>In other words, this is a time when a parent should be obligated to help out if possible. If the school decision is still no walking, then I agree with you ELY that they should look upon this as punishment for themselves.</p>
<p>The parents deserve this. Kids, less so. Maybe the kids should be allowed to walk in graduation and the parents should be barred from attending!</p>
<p>I think perhaps part of the story is missing. I doubt that taking a 'small amount of champagne in a glass" is necessarily going to lead to a positive Breathalyzer reading. The article does state however that there was an open container and cups with alcohol residue clearly visible on the bus. If I had taken a sip of champagne before boarding the bus, I doubt that I would have carried my cup on board for the ride. Add to that the fact that the security at the prom sight smelled pot when the party bus opened it’s doors and you have indications that maybe a few of those seniors had a little more booze while taking the 45 minute bus ride to the prom venue</p>