BY MATT LINDSEYNorth Country This Week

PARISHVILLE — Parishville-Hopkinton Central School District has returned to a past practice of limiting the types of beverages students can have during the school day, Superintendent Steve Coffin said.

Under the district’s rules for the 2026-27 school year, students cannot have soda or energy drinks in hallways or other areas of the school. Milk, water and juice are permitted during meal times. 

During lunch, students may have beverages provided by their parents or guardians. The school sells milk and provides access to water fountains, Coffin said, but beverages other than water must remain in the cafeteria once the lunch period ends. 

“Staff are encouraged to model the same expectations as students,” Coffin said. 

Return to past practice

Coffin said the district’s approach is not a new policy.

“This actually isn’t a new policy or procedure. Many, many years ago students were limited to just water throughout the day,” Coffin said.

“Then COVID happened and the procedures relaxed a little bit as students were expected to bring their own water bottles and drinks to school,” he said.

“Now, many years later, with the increased amount of caffeinated beverages that we now see students consuming during the day, in addition to the finalization of a capital project that added a large number of water bottle filling stations, it just made sense to return back to this past practice,” Coffin said.

Students who are seen with an opened energy drink during the school day will be asked to discard the contents and throw out the beverage, Coffin said.

“The school doesn’t go looking for these drinks so there really aren’t any issues if students keep them in their locker or backpack throughout the day and don’t consume them during the school day,” he said.

The district also encourages students to choose water during after-school activities, sporting events and field trips.

“We encourage students to make healthy choices regardless of the time of day but yes, during school events, we encourage students to drink water in lieu of caffeinated beverages,” Coffin said.

Concerns over caffeine impacts

Coffin said the district is concerned about the increasing availability of caffeinated beverages and the amount of caffeine they contain.

“Yes, the district is concerned about the contents of different drinks that students are now consuming and able to purchase,” he said.

“The variety of caffeinated beverages available to our youth has really exploded,” Coffin said. “Many years ago caffeinated drinks, for the most part, were limited to coffee and soda.”

“Now, there are many more drink options that contain caffeine, and the levels of caffeine in those drinks have, in many cases, have multiplied by factors well beyond what was considered safe or acceptable for students,” he said.

“Those high levels of caffeine, for many reasons, are not good for our school age students, can cause some serious health consequences and can negatively impact students ability to focus in school,” Coffin said.

Parents notified about food deliveries

The district also notified parents before the start of the school year that it would be paying closer attention to what students were eating during the school day.

“We did let parents know prior to the student’s first day of school that we were going to be paying more attention to what students were consuming throughout the day,” Coffin said.

Coffin said parents were also informed that the district would not accept food deliveries from third parties and pass the food along to students.

“We also let them know that we cannot accept food from third parties, like Doordash, and pass that food onto their students,” Coffin said.

“Parents and guardians are able to bring food to the school, sign-in, and pass that food on to their child,” he said.

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