Eric Danko attended Damascus High School where he was badly bullied, in part for being gay. Beles believes her son began to dabble with drugs around the age of 17, likely as an escape from the reality of his teenage woes.

http://wjla.com/news/local/police-documents-quietly-left-at-front-doorstep-link-heroin-dealer-to-fatal-overdose-victim

Allegany Co. teachers could control 'where, when or if' students use cell phones

CUMBERLAND — The Allegany County Board of Education took the first step Tuesday evening that will give teachers the authority to control the use of cell phones by students while in classrooms.
By a 4-0 vote -- one member was absent -- the group approved the first reading of what board attorney Gary Hanna called a tweaked policy. Second and third readings are anticipated at the September meeting.
During a 5 p.m. work session, Superintendent David Cox supported the idea that teachers determine "where, when or if" the phones are used during class time.
Some such actions have already taken place, according to Cox, who said a teacher at Allegany High School has a sleeve with numbered pockets where students place the devices when they enter the room and pick them up when they exit.
...
http://www.times-news.com/news/local_news/allegany-county-teachers-on-way-to-controlling-cell-phones-in/article_c89ef90d-13c0-5245-b543-09f7441edcb0.html

After drunk students, MCPS school board reviews conduct policy

WASHINGTON — A school system’s decision to allow six students to graduate — despite reports they had allegedly went to their prom drunk — has generated a policy review.
The Montgomery County Board of Education’s Policy Management Committee held a meeting Tuesday to discuss possible changes to the way schools handle situations where students have violated the student code of conduct.
As part of the discussion, the school board committee looked at how other districts handle drinking and alcohol use by students. In Anne Arundel County, for example, students who violate the board’s policies on alcohol — or other controlled substances — are barred from taking part in all senior activities, including commencement. In Fairfax County, students can be suspended from taking part in all school-sponsored activities, but graduation isn’t mentioned specifically. In Howard County, graduating seniors can appeal a decision to be barred from graduation ceremonies.
The Montgomery County policy actually discourages principals from barring students from commencement, and Deb Ford, the PTSA president at Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School, thinks that’s a mistake. Being able to use attendance at the graduation ceremony as leverage over seniors “is truly the only thing that will resonate with high school students,” Ford said.
“Anything else, they can just blow off,” she added....

http://wtop.com/montgomery-county/2016/07/drunk-students-montgomery-co-school-board-reviews-conduct-policy/