TRI In The News

Saratoga Springs to Test Prom-Goers for Alcohol

From The Post-Star
Original article available here.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY - Students who attend prom in Saratoga Springs next month will have more than one reason to worry about bad breath.

Officials with the Saratoga Springs City School District told parents in a letter this week that they plan to use passive alcohol sensors for the first time at the May 14 dance, and that anyone caught drinking will face disciplinary action.

The move to screen prom attendees is a first for the district and comes in the wake of two recent cases in which students were caught drinking.

In early March, 21 freshmen and sophomore students were found to have drunk alcohol before attending a high school dance, an indulgence that left two students hospitalized. Less than two weeks later, 16 students were arrested after they were found drinking at a home in Milton.

Michael Piccirillo, the assistant superintendent for secondary education at the Saratoga Springs City School District, said Wednesday that all students attending the prom will be screened upon entry, and that anyone who refuses will also be left out of the event.

A parent-teacher group was told about the screenings two weeks ago and has been supportive of the decision. Students were advised of the new policy last week, he said.

"They know this is going to happen and have been given ample opportunity to understand what's going on," Piccirillo said.

The devices that will be used at the dance are not the same as a calibrated breath analyzers employed by police, but are instead designed only to give an indication of whether alcohol has been consumed.

Readings from the devices are not admissible as court evidence, and officials say it will be up to local police to decide whether to file charges. Investigations into where a student obtained alcohol could also be pursued if underage drinking is discovered.

"To me, that's just as, if not more, important than the actual possession," Saratoga County District Attorney Jim Murphy said Wednesday.

Saratoga Springs Lt. Greg Veitch said police will not be involved in the screenings, and will only follow up if notified by school officials.

"Any time we're notified about underage drinking, there's an investigation that goes along with that," he said.

Students who were caught drinking at the March dance were not charged, but each did receive four-day suspensions.

The March 19 incident at the Milton home led to arrests because the students were discovered with alcohol in their possession and were seen on videotape purchasing alcohol at an area grocery store, Murphy said. The cases are still pending.

Piccirillo said that students caught drinking at the prom could receive suspensions of up to five days, but there will be no uniform punishment.

The district intends to use the passive alcohol screenings at all school dances going forward, but the tests will not be used at other school activities such as athletic events, he said.

"These [dances] are social events where we only have students attending," Piccirillo said. "In those other cases, we have a lot of adults around and we don't feel we have the same potential for problems."

Saratoga Springs is not the first district in the area to use alcohol screenings at dances, though the decision to test all students is unique.

In Queensbury, the district has had screening devices for nearly a year, but only used them for the first time earlier this month when a group of students was suspected of drinking. Five students were removed from the dance and two were arrested in that case.

Michael Patton, the principal at Queensbury High School, said the decision to test students only after suspicions were raised came at the advice of the school's attorney.

Using the screening device only after reasonable suspicions are raised is important, according to at least one civil rights group.

John Whitehead, president of the Virginia-based civil rights organization, The Rutherford Institute, said he believes the use of blanketed [sic] screenings constitutes an illegal search that should not be tolerated.

"This kind of blanket approach is really scary," he said. "You're not always going to know (if a student has been drinking), but are we going to punish everybody? We don't want to live in a suspect state."

The institute on Wednesday wrote a letter to officials at a Virginia school threatening legal action after a student there complained he had been subjected to a breath test without adequate evidence.

Piccirillo said Saratoga Springs officials did consult with attorneys before making their decision to test everyone, and he said they believe their policy is legal. Officials decided to screen everyone to be fair and to be sure that no one who drank was overlooked, he said.

Whitehead suggested a more appropriate response would be to simply increase supervision efforts, and do a better job of incorporating alcohol education into the curriculum.

Patton, who administered the breath tests in Queensbury, said parents also need to play a more prominent role in monitoring student behavior before and after a dance. The alcohol sensor is a deterrent, but is not a cure-all, he said.

"The alcohol sensor is not going to solve the unfortunate dilemma of underage drinking, but hopefully it will at least make them (students) think twice," Patton said.