By Paul Shapiro and Mike Russo
The bill was proposed by Legislator Dave Mejias (D-Farmingdale) at a press conference held prior to the Nov. 17 meeting of the Legislature, and is known as the "Natalie Ciappa Law," named for the Massapequa high school student who died of a heroin overdose last June. If passed, the bill would require law enforcement to notify the schools when an arrest or sale of heroin takes place in their town. The schools are notified regardless of whether the arrested individual is a student or not, as the intention of the law is to inform school districts and parents of the presence of heroin in their towns — not necessarily to name-drop. If a student is arrested, the school district will be informed that someone within their schools was arrested, but will not be given the name.
"Heroin is so insidious, addictive, and cheap," said Mejias, adding that heroin packets are sold for as little as $5 a bag. "We need to give families a heads up that it is a problem in schools."
According to the Nassau County District Attorney's office, heroin-related arrests in Nassau County have increased 50 percent since 2002.
Ciappa's parents, who were shocked back in June when their beautiful young daughter, Natalie — who once had a 113 average in school and was a member of the cheerleading squad — died of a heroin overdose at a party, have worked closely with lawmakers in support of the bill.
During the press conference, the Ciappas stressed how important it is for parents to be aware of the heroin presence in their towns, especially the schools, because the drug is both addictive and difficult to detect.
"We have to know who the enemy is," said Doreen Ciappa, Natalie's mother. "It's really upsetting to know that school districts knew that heroin had surfaced in our schools and they hadn't told us. It would have been nice to know that. I think that it is the school and community's obligation to make sure that parents have the weapons to fight this war."
Nassau County Police Commissioner Lawrence Mulvey said that shortly after Natalie's death, police made a huge heroin bust, in which a kilogram of heroin and a $250,000 in cash were recovered. The commissioner noted that many of the arrested suspects happened to be in Natalie's circle.
"It is a huge problem and we are fully involved in rectifying it," said Mulvey. "This is the first step — to wake the school districts up that there is a huge problem out there. We will notify them pursuant to this legislation whenever we arrest someone for possession or sale of heroin, we will notify those appropriate school districts and we will continue to work with them to educate them on the problem."
Mulvey urged residents and school officials to take advantage of a program already offered by local police precincts. Individuals can bring an unknown substance to a precinct for anonymous testing, and will be assigned a code. The person can bring the code back to the precinct within 10 days to receive a test result that would identify the substance.
Legislator Joe Scannell (D-Baldwin), who voted for the bill that afternoon in the Public Safety Committee, which he chairs, said that children are our most valuable resources and everything possible should be done to protect them.
"We are just so grateful to [the Ciappas] for turning a tragedy into something beneficial for all people in Nassau County at the most difficult time in their lives," Scannell said. "It's all about communication to the school districts."
Legislator Jeff Toback (D-Oceanside) identified knowledge as the key to fighting the heroin epidemic. He said it is crucial for schools to know what is happening in the neighborhood and to do whatever they can to help prevent it.
"Good communication is a key component toward insuring the safety of our children," Toback said. "By requiring the Nassau County Police Department to notify the school district where a heroin arrest has been made, county government is taking another step toward protecting our children from harmful behavior."
The coordinators of Hewlett's Students Against Destructive Decisions, an organization whose goal is to provide students with the best prevention and intervention tools possible to deal with the issues of underage drinking, impaired driving and other drug use including heroin, think this type of legislation can only help its students.
"We do certainly think this bill is a good thing and it is SADD's mission to help children make positive choices," said Hewlett's SADD co-advisor Sheryl Gordon. "It's our job to keep our students here at school safe and to provide a safe learning environment."
SADD co-advisor Robin Newmark added, "We support the legislation on notifying schools when an arrest is made for heroin possession or sale. We do think it's a good thing."
With the proposed law requiring police to notify the school district about anyone arrested in connection with heroin possession within that specific school district's boundaries or the arrest of a student from that district anywhere in the county, school administrators will be given a better picture of the growing epidemic. Dr. Jay Silverstein, director of guidance and support services for the Lawrence School District, realizes the sensitivity of the subject matter but feels the district will be able to use it with discretion.
"I understand that parents might have issues with privacy, however, from the viewpoint of a school administrator, anything that will provide of us with information that we could use to help students stay out of trouble, from my view, has positive potential," Silverstein said. "School community issues that we have been confronted with in the past have been greatly aided by collaboration between law enforcement, school officials and community agencies."
A public hearing on the bill is scheduled for Dec. 1 at the next meeting of the Legislature, and a vote will likely take place on Dec. 15. Unlike most county bills, which go into effect 60 days after they are approved, the "Natalie Ciappa Law" would go into effect immediately.
Comments about this story? PShapiro@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 201.
