Chesapeake boys suspended for possession of oregano

CHESAPEAKE

It was an Italian spice that got Adam Grass suspended from the seventh grade at Hickory Middle School on Thursday, according to his father, Patrick Grass.

It was oregano, contained in a plastic baggie so it resembled marijuana.

The school called it an "imitation controlled substance," which is prohibited under division policy. Even though Adam didn't bring it to school, and was just passing it from one student to another, he was suspended for 10 days and recommended for expulsion, Grass said.

"I know times have changed, and you can't do (just) anything in schools anymore," Grass said.

"But I think there needs to be a certain amount of common sense applied to their policies."

The Grass family went online to look for help and found the Charlottesville-based Rutherford Institute, which provides free legal services to people whose constitutional and human rights have been threatened or violated. The institute sent a letter to the school's principal Friday, calling Grass' suspension "a travesty of justice."

It all started, Grass said, when the older brother of a boy at Hickory Middle said it would be "really funny" if he brought a bag of oregano to school, Grass said. The younger brother did and showed off the herb in the lunchroom.

Adam walked away, but later ran into a boy who asked him to return the oregano to its owner.

Adam took it, then realized the owner wasn't in his next class. He passed it to another student.

"So he was in possession of it for maybe 30 seconds," Grass said.

When school officials found out, they suspended four boys, including Adam, he said.

John Whitehead, founder and president of The Rutherford Institute, called the case an example of when schools overreact with zero-tolerance policies.

The institute has handled hundreds of such cases, which seem to be growing in number and severity nationwide, he said.

Worse, such incidents land on students' permanent records, which can keep them from getting into colleges such as service academies. That's what could happen to Adam, a candidate for the National Junior Honor Society, Whitehead said.

"If you're a good student and you have some oregano, they kick you out of school," he said. "And it means you can't go to the (college) you wanted to, because of oregano."

Chesapeake schools spokesman Tom Cupitt said that's why the division has a lengthy appeals process that runs cases through the deputy superintendent and superintendent before an expulsion recommendation reaches the School Board.

"Anything can happen in an appeal," Cupitt said. He declined to comment on specifics of the case.

Grass said he will meet with school officials today to ask that the suspension be lifted and Adam's record be expunged.

If the school doesn't agree, The Rutherford Institute might file a lawsuit, Whitehead said.

Elisabeth Hulette, (757) 222-5216, elisabeth.hulette@pilotonline.com