Student drug and alcohol policies often impose consequences on students that may place the child at greater risk of delinquent behavior. The project described in this article sought to explore how different stakeholders in two public school systems perceived the ability of their drug and alcohol policies to protect the needs of the school, the community, and the student. Findings indicate that the child needs to be protected by the collective interests of parents, community, and school leaders to ensure that the child's interests are considered foremost as opposed to the suppositions of school administrators following an inflexible policy. Policies that favor school exclusion, with or without minimal counseling components, are viewed as not serving the needs of students.