Have a beer in the hotel bar after the kids are in their rooms? Think again.

by Christy Hickman, Staff Counsel

Do any of these scenarios sound familiar to you? 

The debate team is out of town for a tournament.  After a long night of debate rounds, the kids go up to their hotel rooms.  The head coach volunteers to go up and chaperone the kids as he has some work to do.  The assistant coaches retreat to the hotel bar.  They discuss the latest debate topic over a beer. 

A French teacher takes a group of high school students to France.  While on a home visit with a local family, she is offered a glass of wine with dinner and she accepts.  A student with her, who is eighteen, also has a glass because the legal drinking age in France is age sixteen.

A high school basketball coach attends an evening basketball game after spending the day watching the NCAA tournament with friends and having a few drinks.

A teacher attends a graduation party where he sees alcohol openly available (such as a keg) and current students gathered around drinking from disposable cups.  He decides to stay at the party, but thinks it is best to avoid interacting with the students.   

A 22-year-old teacher who is also the cheerleading sponsor agrees to buy beer for a few of her cheerleaders who promise they will not drink and drive.

The Code of Professional Conduct and Ethics mandated by the Iowa Board of Educational Examiners prohibit educational practitioners licensed by the Board from "being on school premises or at a school-sponsored activity involving students while under the influence of, possessing, using or consuming illegal or unauthorized drugs or abusing legal drugs" and from "being on school premises or at a school-sponsored activity involving students while under the influence of, possessing, using, or consuming alcohol."  Engaging in any of these activities could be grounds for sanction against your license and could even lead to revocation.   

In all of the scenarios described above, the teacher or coach has violated an ethical standard.  The debate coaches, assuming they are licensed practitioners, could be sanctioned for consuming alcohol at a school-sponsored event.  If they are not licensed practitioners, they may not have a licensure issue, but they may lose their coaching jobs.

The French teacher is also guilty of consuming alcohol at a school-sponsored event.  In addition, she has allowed a student to consume alcohol in her presence, which is also a violation of ethical standards.  The Board of Educational Examiners prohibits licensees from "furnishing alcohol or illegal or unauthorized drugs or drug paraphernalia to any student or knowingly allowing a student to consume alcohol or illegal or unauthorized drugs in the presence of the licensee."  Please note that the legal age of consumption for the student is irrelevant. 

The basketball coach has committed an ethical violation when he steps foot on school premises under the influence of alcohol.  Although he did not consume the alcohol on premises or in front of students and he may not be visibly drunk, he is still "under the influence" of alcohol. 

The teacher who attends the graduation party and sees students gathered near a keg is in danger of violating the prohibition against knowingly allowing a student to consume alcohol in the presence of the licensee.  The best response in this situation is to leave immediately.  Simply avoiding any interaction with the students is not sufficient.

Finally, the cheerleading sponsor who buys alcohol for her students.  This is clearly a violation of ethical standards.  This conduct, like any of the previously discussed scenarios, could lead to licensure and employment problems you are better off avoiding in the first instance.