Looking at my last editorial about the slew of drug busts over at Dominion, I began to think about why school systems across America enforce the law. In the case over at Dominion, a mom who found a small bag of her son’s cocaine took the bag and a list of names into Dominion’s administration to seek some form of discipline. Subsequently, the police were apparently notified by the school administration.

 I frankly don’t understand why it’s the school’s job to go to the police. I don’t mean to chastise the mom involved, because I think she did the right thing and what most parents would do; It seems today that the school systems have become the enforcers of the law for crimes committed by their students, even if the offense was done beyond school property. Whenever you hear about crimes being committed by students around us, such as drug possession, scandalous photos being leaked, or underage drinking, the students usually end up being disciplined through the school.

 Do the schools get involved because these offenses aren’t considered serious enough for the police, the rightful enforcers of the law, to be involved? Are some offenses considered venial, so they’re delegated to the school administrations? It isn’t a case of laziness by the police or the school administrations looking to get someone in trouble like the villainous school principals of old teen movies. It’s more of a case that schools have been allowed to extend their jurisdiction outside of physical parameters. If you look at the first few pages of our agendas, you’ll find the LCPS Student Handbook that details students’ rights and responsibilities. Anything that is illegal under the law is accordingly restated in the handbook, as are the reparations of such wrongdoings.

 I don’t question the legality of schools getting involved in punishing crimes committed by their students. It’s clearly legal if you look at the handbook of rights and responsibilities in your agenda or on our school’s website (coincidentally, the online version can’t be viewed via the PFHS website; there’s a joke in there somewhere). Nevertheless, I do question why school administrations get involved. It doesn’t seem like something that should be in their jurisdiction. If the offense doesn’t happen on school property, then schools shouldn’t get involved, right?

 Wrong.

 Although it can be frustrating, even embarrassing, for kids to make a mistake and be punished through their school, it’s for the better. If I were to drink outside of school and get caught, I would prefer to be suspended from school and have the offense written on my permanent record rather than the offense going on a police record and facing a court date or something of the sort.

 Make sure not to quote me on any of the legal matters, because I am no expert of Virginia’s or Loudoun County Public Schools’ justice systems and their repercussions of committing a crime.

 Anyway, I would much rather be disciplined through school rather than the police. I bet that whatever punishments you face from the school are infinitely softer than repercussions given by the police after committing a crime. Also, I’d like to point out that I wouldn’t count on the police always being left out in the punishment process of a high schooler, nor should you, the reader, count on committing a crime and expect a soft punishment from the school system.

 If a student gets in trouble with the school, they will probably (and usually) evade police involvement, and they should be thankful for that. I don’t know if there was a specific point or act that caused schools to expand their jurisdiction into punishing offenses, but I’m glad that it happened. The employment rate of ex-convicts is estimated to be 25-40 percent, so committing a crime as a high schooler and having the police get involved, possibly sending the teen to jail, is far worse than a plausible suspension and other punishments given out by the school system.

 So, if you make mistake, commit a crime, and get and punished by the school system, count yourself lucky and know not to be there again. It could be worse next time.