The Department of Safety can now take possession and dispose of cannabis products and paraphernalia. Contact dispatch at 720-423-3911 for assistance.

The process for dealing with student possession or intoxication is outlined in the student intoxication process found below.

1. Utilize your school’s code of conduct and the District’s discipline policy to help guide your thinking regarding students who may behave in a disruptive fashion regardless of whether or not the disruptive behavior is due to potential substance use intoxication or due to other environmental factors. Policy and Procedure JICH/JICH-R address steps to take if you suspect a student is intoxicated or under the influence of a controlled substance. 

2. All staff should:

• Consider underlying health problems that could mimic intoxication (i.e., diabetes, epilepsy, or other).
• Document the student's overall observation including: 
• Odor (i.e., tobacco smoke, sweet, acetone, or other)
• Speech (i.e., slurred, normal, etc.)
• Energy level (i.e., wide awake, asleep, groggy, etc.)
• Appearance (i.e., disheveled, neatly dressed, burn marks on hands, etc.)
• Ability to recall event/injuries incurred 
• Type/amount of substance involved 
• Time/amount of substance exposure (i.e., oral, inhalation, injection, etc.) 

If the assigned school nurse is available, they should complete and document a physical assessment that includes the:

• Level of consciousness and orientation
• Vital Signs 
• Respiratory effort (rapid, slow, or normal) 
• Pupils
• Skin (i.e., diaphoretic, dry, flushed, cool, warm, hot, etc.)
• Gait

Based on the outcome of the school nurse’s assessment the nurse will determine if the situation  is non-urgent, urgent, or emergent. The disposition will be determined on a case-by-case basis. 

In all cases, parents and school leaders will be notified. In a non-urgent case, the student will  remain with the school nurse until parents retrieve the student or it is determined the student is  safe to return to class. In urgent and emergent cases, 911 will be called. 

If the assigned school nurse is not in the building and staff are concerned about the student’s safety, they should call 911. 

3. Based on the nurse’s assessment, if the student appears to be under the influence of alcohol,  narcotics, or other dangerous substances, the school nurse should follow procedures outlined by the Department of Nursing and Student Health Services and in Procedure JICH-R. 

4.Once the nurse completes the assessment, return the case to the Discipline Building Leader for collaboration with michel_holien@dpsk12.org (720-423-2433) or preventionservices@dpsk12.org to determine whether or not an alternative to discipline can be offered.  Not all incidents involving intoxication will result in alternatives to discipline.  Some may result in disciplinary consequences. 

4a. The DPS Department of Safety can now take possession of marijuana and alcohol. There is no need to contact Denver Police for disposal. You can contact DOS at 720-423-3911.

5. Incidents in which the student is intoxicated, or in possession at an amount that can be considered personal use (rather than distribution) should be assessed to determine the level of use, and then offered an appropriate intervention as an alternative to traditional disciplinary measures.  Contact the discipline building leader assigned to your school for questions.

How to assess level of use and provide an intervention

• Contact the parent and offer a brief intervention in lieu of a disciplinary action.  If parent agrees to the intervention:
• Obtain parental consent for screening and intervention: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1WY26yd0q-4XHskG0aAPPXOTR_tkFLjfG/view?usp=sharing
• Email preventionservices@dpsk12.org to request a Prevention Trainer to come to your school to administer the assessment and provide the intervention.
• Identify 2-5 mental health or nursing staff to be trained in this protocol and be able to administer the process moving forward:  https://drive.google.com/file/d/1xmDcfSaRdM4eAlBtaF50Z7btt-wN1RUV/view?usp=sharing
• Please see www.dpsprevention.org for additional information and resources

6. Additional strategies can include providing groups/workshops for students at risk for  substance abuse, providing parent/community discussions on student substance  use/intoxication, teacher trainings on supporting students who are abusing substances, etc.  These strategies and resources are available to all schools for free through the DPS Substance Use prevention Program. 

In conclusion, please bear in mind that the DPS discipline Ladder/Matrix does not mandate in-school/out-of-school suspension upon a student being at school that appears to be  intoxicated or smelling of illegal drugs.

• Keep the student safe and supervised. Do not leave the student alone.
• In cases of imminent risk and/or following an active suicide attempt on campus, immediately Call 911 and Department of Safety at 720-423-3911 to have EMS transport the student to the local ER.
• Ensure your school social worker or school psychologist is involved and available to talk to the EMS or DPD.
• Notify the guardian(s) of concerns and ask him/her/them to come to the school.
• The school mental health team will complete the SRR protocol including the action and intervention plan.
• Notify Jane_Lineman@dpsk12.org If an attempt was made on campus
• Notify the District Crisis Recovery Team by contacting Meghan Kimball at 720-812-0281 or Ellen Kelty at 720-468-8364, for support.

  Need to consult on this call, Armando Geneyro at 720-423-3690 who will get you the name and number of the person on call.

  Suicide Prevention resources are available here.

• Contact Guardian to notify of concerns. Partner with Guardian to access a Colorado Crisis Walk-In Center or a local ER.
• If suicide attempt on campus, call 911 to have EMS transport to local ER.
• Contact Student Safety Coordinator and consider accessing District Crisis Response Team supports.

• Follow DPS Policy JIH for student interviews, interrogations, searches and arrests (policy provides guidance for searches and seizure of items, and law enforcement involvement)
• Consider DPS Policy JK/JK-R for discipline response
• Initiate threat response process to determine if a Full TA is warranted

Definition:
- Knowing 
- possession* 
- of a firearm**
* Possession means actual or physical control as opposed to fleeting contact. Incident must occur on school grounds, in a school vehicle, or at a school sanctioned event.  
** Includes handguns; rifles; shotguns. This does not apply to objects such as toy guns, facsimiles, cap guns, bee-bee guns, and pellet guns.

Procedure:
- Mandatory referral to law enforcement.
- Mandatory referral to DPS Department of Safety
- Discipline Building Leader contacts Discipline Program Manager regarding Request for Expulsion Procedure.
- Contact Student Safety Coordinator to facilitate Level II Threat Appraisal.

Definition: 
- Knowing 
- possession* 
- of an object defined as a dangerous weapon: 
- any pellet or BB gun, or other device, whether operational or not, designed to propel projectiles by spring action or compressed air; 
- a fixed blade knife with a blade that exceeds three inches in length; 
- a spring-loaded knife or a pocket knife with a blade longer than three and one half inches;
OR
-any object, device, instrument, material, or substance used or intended to be used to inflict death or serious bodily injury.  
*Possession is defined as the actual or physical control as opposed to fleeting contact.  Incident must occur on school grounds, in school vehicles, or at school activities or sanctioned events without the authorization of the school or the school district

Procedure:
- If a dangerous weapon is on school grounds, in the school's possession, or there is a threat of serious bodily injury with a dangerous weapon that is real and immediate, Mandatory Referral to Department of Safety and Law Enforcement is required.
- Discipline Building Leaders contact Discipline Program Manager regarding applicable student discipline procedure.
- Building Level Threat Appraisal Team contact Student Safety Coordinator to facilitate Level II Threat Appraisal - if applicable.