Smokin' in the Boy's Room

It was Friday in one of the "severe to moderate" special ed. classrooms. Fourth period.

The teacher had left detailed lesson plans. Alas, they weren't detailed enough for someone who had never accessed this particular website, and it was taking me a lot of time to find and figure out what it was the kiddos were supposed to be looking at.

(The instructional assistants tried to help, but the teacher had always done it before, so they were unsure how to access the lesson as well. They got one of the neighboring teachers to help, but in the end I misinterpreted the instructions and did the wrong lesson. Sigh.)

So, while I heard a bit of the commotion going on, I only found out what happened after. (At the time there were three other adults in the room, the fourth was on her lunch. One was the class' IA, and the other two were one-to-one aides for specific students.)

The class IA went across the way and got a teacher out of the classroom diagonally across from us (one I have subbed for a few times in the past).

"Go in the restroom."

(I should mention at this point that the classroom had a restroom attached. It's very convenient, especially in classes where students need to have diapers changed.)

Ms. A was very hesitant. "Do I really want to see this?"

"You'll know when you go in," the IA said.

After she went in, there was a flurry of activity. I was busy going over the (what turned out to be wrong) lesson with the kiddos. One of the IAs gave me a heads-up that security might be arriving...

So what was going on?

The class IA had gone in to use the restroom after a student from across the way had used it. (This is so usual that I didn't notice at all.) Apparently he had been in there a long time as there was a certain odor that the IA picked up on.

The odor of marijuana...

Now, pot is legal in California, but it's legal like alcohol is legal. Adults only. Kiddos under 21 are a big nope.

And besides, schools are smoke free. Teachers and staff who smoke tobacco must go off campus if they want to smoke. I assume the same applies for smoking other substances. (I've not checked the updated rules. I'm sure working high is frowned upon.)

The IA knew who the student was and which class he had come from. (It's a large campus but a small group of special ed. students. The IAs know all of them.) His teacher knew, and administration was alerted.

But what got us in the end was he used a classroom restroom to do this. Where he was known. If he had gone to one of the usual boy's rooms where several students were always in and out...

I mean, it was like he was trying to get caught.