A few years ago, my youngest daughter got suspended from school for having a lighter in her backpack. It just so happened that week that she had moved into her new room that had been added on, but the light fixtures and outlets had not been connected yet, and after she did her homework at the kitchen table, she went into her room and lit candles or oil lamps to chill and listen to music. This was the first time in her entire life, and she was in middle school / puberty, that she had a room of her own. I couldn't blame her for demanding to occupy said sanctuary before the finishing work was done.
That pissed me off to the point that we finished her education at home. What the hell? An engineer and a Lab Clinician should be able to produce a decent high-school graduate, right? (In case you are wondering, the answer is yes.)
Then I read the following, and I fucking went ballistic!
Now my questions: What would you do if this happened to your child? And how can she be compensated for the public humiliation this has caused? And what kind of school nurse doesn't ask a 16 year old girl if this just might not be the problem?Girl's Menstrual Cramps Lead To Drug Test
Fri Nov 11,11:38 PM ET
Two Cass County parents said their daughter was treated like a criminal for having her period. Now, they want her high school to reimburse them for a drug test.
"The school administration definitely overreacted," said Dale James, father of 16-year-old Nicole.
The situation started in the nurse's office at Ray-Pec High School. Nicole did not feel well, but was embarrassed to say it was menstrual cramps.
"This is not something that any woman, yet alone a 16-year-old girl, wants to discuss," said Jodie James, Nicole's mother.
Nicole's parents said the school apparently suspected the sickness was drug- or alcohol-related.
"They decided to give my daughter a field sobriety test," Dale James told KMBC's Chris Nagus.
Dale James said Nicole did not fail the test, but the school told him she did not pass with flying colors. So, the family was given two options.
"Either a police officer could take my daughter down to juvenile hall, or we could have her tested (for drugs) ourselves," Dale James said.
He said they opted for a drug test, which Nicole passed without a problem.
"They came to the conclusion we knew from the onset -- unfortunately, it's my daughter's time of the month," Dale James said. "You can't send people for drug tests based on a general feeling ... Never once did they say they were sorry or say they made a mistake or offer to pay for the expenses of having a drug test."
School officials said school policy is if a student is suspected of using drugs, the nurse can perform a field sobriety test. If the student does not pass, the principal can suspend the student. If the test is inconclusive, the student may be released to the parents, and the parents can have their child tested for drugs.
