HOMESTEAD, Pa. — Only on Channel 11, a local alternative school is offering students the opportunity to take smoke breaks.
Channel 11's cameras were rolling as students at Communities in Schools in Homestead took a smoke break this week.
"I was stunned," said parent Andrea Russman whose 13-year-old son attends the school. "He kept coming home smelling like cigarettes, and here it's the school allowing kids to smoke cigarettes."
Communities in Schools is a nationwide non-profit that helps students who are considered at-risk.
Russman said her son took a pocketknife to his school in South Park and was sent to the Homestead school for 45 days.
Channel 11 spoke with one of the school's directors who said they notified parents about the smoking policy.
"There's no way that one of our teachers would allow a 13-year-old to smoke. If it did happen, it was an isolated incident," said Ryan Riley of the school.
School officials said there are 33 students at the school, and only two are under 18 years old.
"There is no state law that prevents students from smoking on school grounds," said Tim Eller of the Pennsylvania Department of Education.
Eller said schools can adopt their own policies on the local level.
WPXI
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