Drug/Alcohol Policy

Hawai‘i Preparatory Academy
Drug/Alcohol Policy
p. 30, Upper School Student & Parent Handbook

Please be advised that the following policies, rules, and regulations now apply to the possession or use of marijuana or other illicit substances that might also be referred to as “contraband.”

Case precedent concerning the use or possession of contraband on campus began as of August 28, 2008. Dispositions in cases in previous years have obviously been well-intended, but these dispositions seem to have sent mixed messages to certain members of our community. In an area as important as this, mixed messages derived from past cases serve no one well. We can do better. Toward this end, please be advised that these earlier dispositions will no longer be regarded as setting precedent for the school to follow in cases arising henceforth. Any past cases are history. They will have no bearing on similar cases arising from this point forward. Our building of case precedent begins now. 

1. We are not naïve. We recognize that we are not immune from the same issues with which society at large must grapple. Thus, we know that a few students can make mistakes in an area such as this, and we believe that some students making such a mistake are entitled to a healthy dose of compassion if they recognize the mistake and ask for help. With these thoughts in mind, an HPA student who self-discloses to the Upper School principal, the dean of student life, or the assistant headmaster the use of a substance BEFORE that particular student has been identified by administration officials for urinalysis or other drug testing, that student will be given a chance to remain at HPA. This chance will be extended provided that the student complies fully and successfully with any treatment or counseling which the school will arrange (at the family’s expense) and, provided further, that the student successfully completes such period of probationary enrollment as the school may determine to be appropriate. This is our “One Chance Policy.” All students, parents, and guardians are asked to commit this policy to memory and to take it to heart.
2. A student who has availed herself/himself of our One Chance Policy and then later possesses or uses contraband on campus will either be dismissed from school or, depending on the facts and circumstances of the case, be permitted to withdraw in lieu of dismissal.
3. A student who, without any previous One Chance Policy involvement, is discovered for the first time to be using or possessing contraband on campus will be dismissed for a minimum of one semester. Depending on the facts and circumstances of the case, the student may be extended the opportunity to re-apply for admission, provided that the student has successfully complied with such terms and conditions as were imposed at the time of the student’s separation from HPA. If re-admitted, the student’s status will be probationary until the student is advised otherwise. A student who commits a first offense, is dismissed, is re-admitted, and later commits a second offense of possessing or using marijuana or other illicit substance on campus will be dismissed permanently from the school or, perhaps, offered the opportunity to withdraw in lieu of permanent dismissal. 
4. A student found to be distributing contraband or who has possession, custody, or control of contraband with the intent to distribute will be dismissed permanently without any opportunity for withdrawal or re-enrollment in the future.
5. Any student possessing contraband or use paraphernalia, contraband residue in any amount, or any compound or agent designed to mask the use of contraband will be subject to severe punishment as determined on a case-by-case basis by the headmaster or the assistant headmaster following the receipt of a report from either the Honor System or the Citizenship System or an administrative panel convened to weigh the facts and develop a dispositional recommendation.
6. Concerning the terms “probationary status” and “probation”, they can have varying definitions from school to school. Here at HPA, a student on probation will be deemed subject to immediate termination of enrollment if she/he commits any major offense or amasses any significant accumulation of minor offenses that, in the opinion of school officials, indicates a significant lack of desire or effort to remain in the HPA community as a positive presence

Ours is a fine school and with a boost of clarity and consistency in this important behavioral area, this will remain the case. The vast majority of our students are here for all the right reasons. This being the case, we need to make sure we do our level best to maintain for these young people an environment in which living and learning in the healthiest of ways is promoted and where rules and expectations are not subject to misunderstanding or varying interpretations.  

Parents and guardians, we ask for your assistance in this endeavor. As we will be doing here on campus, please connect with your sons and daughters regarding the importance of this subject matter. Please impress upon them that HPA is all about being a safe, hospitable, and healthy community of learning.

[from US Student Handbook 2009-2010]