This document discusses crisis management for prescription drug incidents in schools. Phase 5 involves implementing disciplinary actions for students involved in incidents. It describes developing a disciplinary action plan based on the incident severity and student characteristics. Key steps include meeting with parents and school professionals to discuss possible consequences, finalizing the plan with timelines and follow-up actions, and periodically reviewing and revising the plan as needed.

1. Crisis management:
Handling prescription drug
incidents in schools
Phase 5

2. Crisis management phases
Crisis management is a six-phase process:
Phase 1: Prepare before a prescription drug incident occurs in your school.
Phase 2: Take immediate action when a prescription drug incident occurs.
Phase 3: Communicate with school community members after a prescription
drug incident.
Phase 4: Follow up after a prescription drug incident.
Phase 5: Implement disciplinary actions for student(s) involved in a
prescription drug incident.
Phase 6: Support and monitor student(s) involved in a prescription drug
incident.
The following presentation describes the action steps you should complete in
Phase 5. If you would like to review a different phase, please click on the
appropriate link above.

3. Phase 5: Develop a disciplinary action plan
In Phase 5, take steps to develop a disciplinary action plan based on the
severity of the prescription drug incident and the characteristics of each
student involved in the incident.
There are two action steps you should complete:
Action step 5.1: Develop a disciplinary action plan based on incident severity
and student characteristics.
Action step 5.2: Review and revise disciplinary action plan.

4. Action step 5.1: Develop a disciplinary action plan based on
incident severity and student characteristics
When developing a disciplinary action plan, it is important to consider many
factors, including:
• Age
• Academic, emotional, and social needs
• Disability status, including physical and mental illness, and developmental
delays
• Disciplinary record
• Type of drug involved, for example, a controlled substance or over-the-counter
drug
• Amount of drug involved
Each disciplinary action plan is unique. Consequences for a prescription drug
incident will vary depending on the specifics of the incident and unique
student characteristics.

5. Action step 5.1: Develop a disciplinary action plan based on
incident severity and student characteristics
Meet with parents and school professionals
To decide on the appropriate consequences, the principal should convene a
meeting with parents and school professionals who have a close connection
to or knowledge about the student, to discuss the options. Depending on the
severity of the incident, consequences could include detention, community
service, suspension, or expulsion.
• Hold meeting to discuss possible consequences with the student’s parents,
principal, and school professionals who have a close connection to or
knowledge about the student.
• Take into account mitigating factors including the student’s age, individual
needs, disability status, and whether the student is a repeat offender.
• Discuss possible disciplinary actions that do not interfere with the student’s
education.

6. Action step 5.1: Develop a disciplinary action plan based on
incident severity and student characteristics
Finalize the disciplinary action plan
• Principal should make the final decision about the disciplinary action plan.
• Document the disciplinary action plan, the implementation timeline, and
follow-up actions.
• Determine a timeline to periodically review the disciplinary action plan to
assess its effectiveness and revise, if needed.
• Explain the disciplinary action plan to parents and school professionals who
will support and monitor the student.

7. Action step 5.1: Develop a disciplinary action plan based on
incident severity and student characteristics
A student involved in a prescription drug incident will likely face numerous
consequences for their actions at home, at school, and from the legal system,
which will limit their time to keep up with schoolwork.
To the extent that it is possible, integrate the school’s disciplinary action plan
with the legal system’s disciplinary actions. For example, if a student is
required to attend a drug abuse course or treatment facility by the court, the
school could require the student write a summary of what he or she learned
from the course.
Doing so will ensure that disciplinary actions are not redundant and maintain
continuity in the student’s education. If the student received a school
suspension, he or she will have much schoolwork to make up and limited time
in which to complete it.

8. Action step 5.2: Review and revise disciplinary action plan
You may need to review and revise the disciplinary action plan if the original
disciplinary action plan impedes academic progress or is not effective, for
example, if the student is involved in another prescription drug incident.
To review and revise the disciplinary action plan, reconvene a meeting with
school professionals and parents who attended the first meeting to discuss
the following:
• How the student’s behavior has changed or remains unchanged.
• The strengths and challenges of the current disciplinary action plan.
• If the timeframe to implement the disciplinary action plan needs to be
adjusted.
• Other factors that might hinder the effectiveness of the disciplinary action
plan.

9. Action step 5.2: Review and revise disciplinary action plan
Refer to the Levels of interventions and disciplinary responses handout in the
Creating a comprehensive diversion-prevention program in your school:
Professional development course for administrators for information on
incidents and suggested consequences.

10. Go to Phase 6 to learn about the action steps you should complete to support
and monitor students and staff after an incident to strengthen positive
results from the previous phases.

11. This project has been funded with federal funds from the National Institute
on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and
Human Services, under Contract No. HHSN271201200032C.