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WEBVTT IF THEY’RE CAUGHT WITH POT. KATELYN? >> SCHOOL LEADERS SAY THE GOAL OF THE NEW POLICY IS TO KEEP STUDENTS IN SCHOOL. THEY SAY THAT IS WHAT IS BES FOR STUDENTS. THEY TAKE IT A STEP FURTHER TO PROVIDE GUIDANCE AND COUNSELING, WHICH LEADERS SAY IS NECESSARY FOR CHANGE. THE WAY PITTSBURGH PUBLIC SCHOOLS HANDLED STUDENTS CAUGHT WITH MARIJUANA USED TO BE A ONE SIZE FITS ALL. BEFORE IF A STUDENT WAS CAUGHT WITH MARIJUANA REGARDLESS OF HOW MUCH THEY’D BE SUSPENDED FOR 10 DAYS WITH ALTERNATIVE PLACEMENT. THAT ALL CHANGED THIS SCHOOL YEAR. >> AT THE BEGINNING OF THIS YEAR, SEMESTER 1, WE PUT INTO PLACE THAT IF YOU HAD UNDER FIVE GRAMS, YOU RECEIVED A 10 DAY SUSPENSION AND DIVERSION CLASSES. IF YOU HAD OVER FIVE GRAMS YOU RECEIVED A 10 DAY SUSPENSION AND ALTERNATIVE PLACEMENT. >> ON MARCH FIRST IT’LL GO A STEP FURTHER. STUDENTS CAUGHT WITH LESS THAN 5 GRAMS OF MARIJUANA WILL HAVE A FIVE DAY SUSPENSION WITH 5 DAYS HELD IF THEY COMPLETE A DIVERSION CLAS THE 9 HOUR CLASS, SPREAD OVER 3 WEEK DAYS OR TWO SATURDAYS, WILL FOCUS ON THE EFFECTS OF DRUG USE, HOW TO HANDLE PEER PRESSURE AND HOW TO MAKE BETTER CHOICES. >> WE WANT IT TO BE MORE PROACTIVE THAN REACTIVE AND PROVIDE MORE GUIDANCE AND COUNSELING TO OUR STUDENTS THAT JUST TO SAY A PUNISHMENT IS GOING TO FIX IT BECAUSE THE PUNISHMENT WASN’T FIXING THE PROBLEM. >> SCHOOL LEADERS SAY IT’S WORKING. SINCE THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR, 84 STUDENTS HAD BEEN CAUGHT WITH MARIJUANA. THAT’S DOWN FROM 106 DURING THE SAME TIME PERIOD THE YEAR BEFORE. AND WITH THE OPTION OF COUNSELING STARTING NEXT MONTH THEY ONLY EXPECT THOSE NUMBERS TO GET BETTE >> WE FEEL THAT THE BEST POSSIBLE THING IS FOR STUDENTS TO BE IN SCHOOL AND THE ONLY WAY YOU CAN LEARN FROM YOUR MISTAKES IS TO BE PROVIDED WITH ADDITIONAL SUPPORT >> SCHOOL LEADERS SAY DIVERSION CLASSES ARE GOING TO MAKE THE DIFFERENCE. THEY

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Pittsburgh Public Schools are changing the way they punish students who are caught with marijuana in class."We used to have a zero tolerance policy for everything related to marijuana and it just didn't work," said Melissa Friez, Assistant Superintendent of Student Support Services. "It wasn't changing behavior and we're hoping that this will change behaviors and help educate students better on use."Before, if a student was caught with marijuana, regardless of how much, they'd be suspended for ten days with alternative placement. That changed at the beginning of the 2018-2019 school year."At the beginning of this year, Semester 1, we put into place that if you had under five grams you received a 10 day suspension and diversion classes," said Friez. "If you had over five grams you received a 10 day suspension and alternative placement."On March 1, it'll go a step further. Students caught with less than five grams of marijuana will have a five day suspension with five days held IF they complete a diversion class. If they're caught with more than five grams of marijuana, they'd be suspended for ten days with alternative placement along with the diversion class. The nine hour class, spread over three week days or two consecutive Saturdays, will focus on the effects of drug use, how to handle peer pressure and how to make better choices."We want it to be more proactive than reactive and provide more guidance and counseling to our students that just to say a punishment is going to fix it because the punishment wasn't fixing the problem," said Friez.School leaders say it's working. Since the beginning of the 2018 school year, 84 students have been caught with marijuana. That's down from 106 during the same time period the year before. With the option of counseling starting in March, they only expect those numbers to get better."We feel that the best possible thing is for students to be in school and the only way you can learn from your mistakes is to be provided with additional support," said Friez.