School to Mull Action Against 9 Students Who Drank Alcohol

The fate of nine Foothill High student leaders suspended in connection with alcohol consumption at a school-approved retreat will be considered today, officials said.

The students, whose names have not been released, were caught when security guards at the leadership retreat in Santa Barbara smelled alcohol on the breath of several of them at a dance, said Mark Eliot, spokesman for Tustin Unified School District.

Those not cited by the guards later confessed or were turned in by other students, he said.

The nine were immediately suspended from school because of the district’s zero-tolerance policy, which requires that students caught using drugs or alcohol during school-sanctioned events be suspended and then transferred to other schools in the district, Eliot said.

If they commit a second offense, they face expulsion, he said: “The school board is very adamant about the policy.”

The district’s student replacement review committee, made up of school administrators, is to consider today each student’s case to decide disciplinary action.

Eliot said the panel may recommend counseling or alcohol education classes.

The students may appeal any decisions to the assistant superintendent, then appeal again to the school board if they are not satisfied.

The incident occurred at the annual Orange County Leadership Council Camp, a three-day retreat at UC Santa Barbara the last weekend of August.