[MysterE]

Ok all,

The truth is that in most states, drug and alcohol abuse are not considered mandatory reporting items for teachers. The only mandatory reporting required is if 1) a student tells you about an abusive situation or they plan to hurt themselves or others.

We are not required to report on drug or alcohol usage so long as it does not happen while a student is under our purview of control. In other words, unless the individual school has a specific rule that directs teachers otherwise, it is left to our discretion.

The reason I brought the whole topic up in the first place was to start a discussion about an issue that without a doubt is part of our students. Yes, statistically, our kids will be involved in both drug and alcohol abuse. It doesn't matter what type of school you go to or how clean you think your kids are...some are struggling. Let's ignore the arguments of whether drugs and alcohol are inherently bad or benign...what I do know is that we need to have a conversation about this stuff with all of our students and team members, you need to be aware that you also need to watch for the danger of abuse from among your teammates. Hopefully your team has a policy, if not, one needs to be developed.

Thank you.