But several senior girls who were selling Fairfax High sweat shirts said they doubted that many parents would read the brochures even then. They have good sons and daughters, who get good grades. But on the weekends, they don't do good things. Last school year, Fairfax County school officials recommended that 102 students be expelled for drug-related offenses, compared with 32 students two years earlier. Most of the offenses involved marijuana.
Drug use is up sharply among younger students.
Teenage drug use nationwide has doubled since 1992, according to a recent federal survey, a trend that Republican presidential candidate Robert J. Dole has seized on to argue that President Clinton is losing the war on drugs. Fairfax is not the only Washington area system trying to get parents more involved in drug education. Montgomery County school officials are sending home videotapes and newspaper articles about marijuana and requiring parents to sign forms saying they have gone over the material with their children. Alexandria officials have produced a video that will be distributed to parents this fall through bookstores, libraries and PTAs. It's a preventable problem, and we really believe that we can accomplish more together with the parents.