A student was cited in October after allegedly being intoxicated during class, administrators confirmed.
Although Big Sky School Resource Officer Christian Cameron said no one was arrested in the incident, he confirmed the student was detained for safety and given a ticket for intoxication. The incident happened in the month of October, and administrators said the student will be returning to school soon.
According to assistant principal Sabrina Beed, teachers and classmates noticed something was wrong with the student right away. Beed wouldn’t confirm intoxication directly, but said “a substance was involved.”
Instead of focusing on punishment for the student, Beed says Big Sky is trying to understand the student’s mental health and background.
“Every case is handled differently depending on the student’s history and what kind of help they might need,” Beed said.
When asked , head principal Jennifer Courtney said teachers aren’t formally trained to detect substance use. Most of the time, it’s just things like the smell of alcohol or marijuana that make it obvious if a student is under the influence.
Courtney also said, “it’s always disheartening when situations like this happen, especially when it involves someone students and staff already know and care about.”
Courtney said drug and alcohol use at Big Sky isn’t worse now, just different. In past years, it was mostly tobacco or marijuana; now it’s vapes and newer things like mushrooms. She called it an “ever-evolving crisis.”
“Drug-related issues at Big Sky High tend to come and go,” Courtney said.
Courtney believes schools should focus on education and support instead of only punishment. Courtney says administrators strongly support having Narcan, which is a life-saving nasal spray. Narcan contains the medication Naloxone, which temporarily reverses a drug overdose. Administrators believe having Narcan available on campus would save lives in case of an overdose.
Right now, Courtney says the district doesn’t allow the majority of people to carry Narcan in schools, only the nurse and Officer Cameron. Courtney says some people think having it encourages drug use, but Courtney disagrees, saying that mindset is uneducated. Administrators believe schools should be ready to protect students and have honest conversations about real issues.
Courtney also says the school also tries to connect students with local resources like the Open Aid Alliance, and encourages open discussions about drugs and mental health. If something happens off campus, the school usually doesn’t give discipline unless the student is an athlete under the code of conduct. In those cases, punishment depends on whether the student reports it themselves and if it’s during their active season. Off-campus behavior doesn’t affect graduation unless it directly causes problems at school, administrators said. .
Courtney said administrators want Big Sky High to stay a place where students feel supported and safe, not judged. She said schools should be about learning, prevention, and connection, not just discipline, and that it’s important for the community to keep talking about youth issues so everyone can stay informed and help students make better choices.
