Students caught smoking in Harford schools would be required to go to a smoking-cessation class under a proposal before the school board.

The proposal also would shorten suspensions for most smoking offenses.

“It is an attempt to treat students, as opposed to punishing them,” said Sharon Gross, assistant supervisor for drug prevention.

Under the existing policy, students get five-day suspensions for a first offense, 10-day suspensions for a second offense and a referral to the superintendent for a third.

This story continues below
Advertisement

The proposal would shorten suspensions to one day for a first offense and five for a second, while requiring one smoking-cessation session for a first offense and three for a second offense.

Gross said the proposal grew out of success in having students who violate alcohol or drug policies go to counseling sessions.

The free tobacco sessions will be provided by the Harford County Health Department.

“The last thing the schools need to do is have kids out of schools for 10 days,” said Jerry Lacey, a parent of an Aberdeen High School senior. “It defeats the purpose. If they can get them into counseling, I think that’s great.”

Harford’s school system said it could not say how many students have been caught smoking in the county’s schools.

In Maryland, the Centers for Disease Control estimates 16.5 percent of Maryland high school students smoke, compared with 23 percent nationally.

Nationally, schools have been moving toward smoking cessation or counseling and away from suspensions for those caught smoking, and anti-smoking advocates hope more schools take that approach.

“The point is not to beat the kids up,” said Danny McGoldrick, vice president for research at the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, a group that started in the mid-’90s to bring awareness to the rise of adolescent smoking. “The real point of tobacco policies of intervention should be to get the kids to quit smoking.”

vdickson@baltimoreexaminer.com