How schools protect students from drugs inside and outside the classroom

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI)– Following an arrest of a suspected drug dealer that was taken into custody last week in connection with a Sugar City student’s overdose earlier this year, Local News 8 learned about how schools across eastern Idaho are working to prevent drug use among students both on and off campus.

RELATED: Madison County Deputies arrest suspect in connection to juvenile overdose

Sargent Daniel Sperry has worked as a resource officer for Bonneville High School since 2013. He's seen the ups and downs that students face every day.

"We start off with prevention. So we're we work with the kids. In elementary age, for instance, our DARE program, we teach them decision-making skills, how to make healthy choices, and we talk about choosing good friends and how to avoid dangerous situations," Sperry said.

Education Over Punishment

According to Sperry, the most common issues schools encounter involve nicotine, marijuana, and alcohol. Rather than focusing only on punishment, schools are increasingly turning to education and intervention programs to help students make better choices.

“When a student is caught with, let’s say, nicotine for the first time, instead of just writing a citation or giving them a fine for it, we’ll provide cessation classes,” Sperry said. “We’ve worked closely with East Idaho Public Health to provide cessation classes to that student to help them stop so that they don’t go further on into the next step of other drugs or other poor choices.”

District 93 schools and several local charter schools have also added preventative tools on campus, including vape detectors installed in secondary school restrooms.

"All of the secondary schools here in District 93 and a lot of the charter schools in the area have vape detectors in the restrooms," Sperry said, "we also bring in drug K-9s on occasion as well."

Schools also work with law enforcement K-9 units to conduct periodic searches on school property. One of those dogs, Duke, is trained to detect drugs ranging from THC to heroin.

“Schools will even randomly ask us to schedule the canines to come into the school,” Sperry said. “We’ll do searches of parts of the school, lockers, classrooms, and parking lots.”

A Network of Support

Sperry says schools also partner with juvenile probation officers and the Bonneville County Prosecutor’s Office to connect students with additional resources outside the classroom.

“We all come together and discuss the incoming cases and discuss the individual needs of that student,” Sperry said. “That way, we can get the resources for that student to get them on a good trajectory.”

Sperry says one of his favorite lessons teaches students the importance of building a support system. In the activity, students write their name in the center of a piece of paper and surround it with circles filled with the names of trusted adults they can turn to if they feel pressured, unsafe or need help. He says the goal is for students to continue adding names as they grow older, creating a larger network of support over time. Sperry says the exercise reminds students that even during difficult moments, they are never truly alone and always have people they can rely on.

"I also encourage them to, as they grow up, to live their life in a way where they're on somebody else's trust network," Sperry said.

If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, mental health challenges, or a crisis, help is available. Call or text the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988. It is free, confidential, and available 24/7.