Giving Compass' Take:

• Chalkbeat reports on Chicago schools lessening the discipline on drugs and alcohol in an effort to view drug possession in a more restorative and treatment-focused way. 

• Students in Chicago helped to work with parents, administrators, and policymakers in creating this new code of conduct. How else can we encourage students to become more involved in their education?

• Here's how drug-free school zones backfired. 

As Illinois moves to legalize recreational marijuana, Chicago schools have downgraded their categorization of students’ use of alcohol and drugs in schools from the most serious type of misconduct to a lesser infraction with milder penalties.

That means that those caught smoking weed, for example, will no longer face the possibility of expulsion.

The reforms are among changes to the Chicago Public Schools student code of conduct approved by the new school board at its first meeting Wednesday.

The code of conduct also for the first time lays out penalties for students using vaporizers in school, more clearly defines bullying, and spells out differences between consensual and non-consensual sex acts among students. It also includes a new student bill of rights that covers the right of students to fully understand any punishment meted out to them, and the right to free public education and safety in school.

The district developed the code in partnership with youth groups.

Read the full article about drugs and alcohol in schools by Yana Kunichoff at Chalkbeat.