The purpose of this investigation was to explore the association between severity of sanctions imposed on students resulting from tobacco policy violation and the event dropout rate in South Carolina public high schools. This study employed a cross-sectional design. Surveys were mailed to school principals regarding tobacco policy and sanctions for violations of stated policies (N=132, 72% response rate). Severe sanctions were categorized as those resulting in the student being denied on-site instruction (i.e., out of school suspension or expulsion). General linear regression models adjusted for socioeconomic status, ethnicity, and rural/urban status at the county level, were used to test for an association between event dropout rate and severity of sanction imposed. The mean dropout rate in 1998 for high schools in SC was 2.58%with a range from 0% to 7.84%. Suspension at first violation and expulsion were associated with lower dropout rates (~-0.67%). Suspension at second violation was not related to the dropout rate while suspension at third violation was associated with higher dropout rates (~+0.66%). The rationale for removing a student from the educational environment as a result of tobacco addiction behavior has been questioned because of it’s potential to exacerbate dropout behavior. Results of this study provide preliminary evidence that severe sanctions appear to be warranted for tobacco policy violators in terms of dropout behavior; however future work should explore other methods of severe sanctions that would create the same effect and cost fewer educational hours.
Learning Objectives: 1. Articulate the importance of tobacco control policy in schools. 2. Describe the association between tobacco control policy and highschool dropout rates. 3. Identify possible alternative sanctions to impose upon student violators of tobacco policy
Keywords: Tobacco Control, Education
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.