Many students at WA might be shocked to learn that the ever-looming “Zero Tolerance Policy” was never actually a part of the student handbook. The term was used solely by Principal James Antonelli in his addresses to students at the beginning of the year.

“There was a standard operating procedure that I used. Because I am so against the use of drugs on the school campus, I used that language: Zero Tolerance, in regards to having drugs on school campus. That was the foundation of what that [Zero Tolerance] was all about,” said Antonelli.

However, there is an actual cause for a recent change in policy regarding disciplinary action. This is primarily because of Chapter 222 of the Acts of 2012: a reform to Massachusetts law dealing with the access of educational services provided to students that are suspended or excluded from school for an extended period of time.

Chapter 222 states that a high school can only remove the student for up to 90 days, and within that time, the school needs to provide some type of educational service for the student. The school has to pay for that educational support.

“What happened then was the legislators, in their infinite wisdom, made some changes. It really wasn’t about Westford Academy, it was about other institutions that were continuing to suspend students for long periods of time, not providing the educational services that are required for those students, which we do […] There are extreme circumstances where I could push somebody out for [extended periods of time], if they are a threat to our school. I still try to hold people accountable for that. If they have drugs on campus, I will put them out for 90 days. And, I will attempt to put them out for the remainder of the year if I can,” said Antonelli.

While Chapter 222 was passed and signed into law by Governor Deval Patrick in 2012, the clause specifically states that the measures would not take effect until July 1st, 2014, giving schools time to prepare for the new legislation. According to Antonelli, that is exactly what Westford Public Schools did.

“We built money into our school budget for those purposes. So two years ago, the superintendent, when we knew this was coming, said ‘we need, let’s say $25,000-$45,000 in that account so that if [WA] or the two middle schools have a situation, we will be able to deal with it’. Because that allows me, in a sense, to keep my zero tolerance policy in place,” said Antonelli.

Chapter 222 has caused the process for performing disciplinary actions has slightly changed. If a student is caught with drugs on campus, they will be suspended, and will be brought back to have a hearing to determine whether he or she will be allowed to return to school or if he or she will be removed for a longer amount of time.

If the student is a special education student, then an additional meeting needs to take place. This Manifestation Determination Meeting is meant to figure out whether or not the student’s disability manifested their behavior. If it was not the cause, then they may be suspended again, but the school still has to pay for their education.

“[Chapter 222] does give me [Antonelli] some autonomy, at the end of the cycle, to figure out whether or not a student will come back. In the past, I have allowed a student to come back to school, and then I personally caught that student doing drugs, after being allowed to come back. The student was young, a sophomore, and we had to educate them afterwards. That particular student went to a Northeast Recovery Program, and they graduated from there,” said Antonelli.

In addition, that student’s education at the recovery center was paid for by Westford Academy, not the student’s parents, in accordance with the law.

Chapter 222 clearly states that, “Instructional costs eligible for reimbursement shall include only those costs directly attributable to providing alternative educational services under this section, such as salary of educational personnel, salary of related services personnel, costs for specialized books, materials or equipment, [and] tuition costs […]”.

That means the school has to foot the bill for the student’s education outside of school, and is only partially reimbursed by the government for their efforts.

Regardless of how the payment for the students’ education is dealt with, Antonelli does have a plan for students that require disciplinary action.

“In most cases what I [Antonelli] would do is put the student out for 90 days, and depending on the time in the year, probably try to put them out for the rest of the year. Then give them a fresh start the following year, if they are a freshman or sophomore. If they are a senior, they are probably not coming back. Graduation would be [after the main ceremony], and they would receive their diploma, with a handshake from me, later. But they would still need to go through their education, and we would need to set up a program for them to go through before graduation,” said Antonelli.

Antonelli further defines what constitutes a suspension for students.

“Anything that happens on school property would be a suspendable offense. Anything that happens at a school-sponsored event would be a suspendable offense. If it happens at a house party, and the student is found intoxicated, the only thing that would happen here would be that they would [lose 30 days of extra-curricular activities such as sports and clubs],” said Antonelli.

For more serious issues, Antonelli is not worried about removing the privileges given to students, citing Disney and graduation as potential losses.

“I look at past precedence. If that student was [previously] involved with hosting a house party, then we have taken that student off of Disney [in the past]. There are expectations that are outlined at the beginning of the school year, and we have that memorandum of understanding with the police department that says that we get information. I know that we’ve done that. Let’s say a student is hosting a huge party, I might say to that family that that student is not the kind of person that I want at my graduation. That is for something really serious though,” said Antonelli.

Regardless of Antonelli’s own personal views, he still is bound to abiding by the law, and is preparing for future laws, such as the legalization of medical or recreational marijuana use in Massachusetts.

“I guess I’m going to have to figure out a plan […] My eyes are wide open to this, and I could see [the legalization] happening in Massachusetts, and I could see it happening in high schools. I’ll be curious, and I don’t think we will be the first high school, but I’ll be seeing what those other high schools do, and we might match what they are doing,” said Antonelli.

However, though he does see the other side of the issue, he remains steadfast in his own opinions.

“I have a new appreciation for chronic pain. In some situations, there is evidence to show that [marijuana] does actually help people. If it is for medicinal purposes and prescribed by their doctor, then it is their call. Do I have to agree with it? I don’t have to,” he said.

Overall, Chapter 222 and future laws like the potential legalization of marijuana use is going to make the enforcement of previous school policies and ideas like Zero Tolerance difficult. Nevertheless, Antonelli and the rest of WA administration are working to get out ahead of the law and create plans that are the most beneficial for students.

Finally, Antonelli wants to dismiss any claims that administration is not taking drug use on campus seriously by only suspending students, and that he will continue disciplining students for their actions if they pose a potential threat to the school.

“If I had a student that was in school, and they had marijuana possession on them, to me that is serious. I think I’ve been clear. I think I’ve been crystal clear, people know how we deal with it, and I don’t want the message to get out that it is flexible, and I’m not flexible, when it comes to drugs. I will do anything within my power to send the message to that student that that is not right,” said Antonelli.