What laws, if any, exist to prohibit a student of a high school from
drinking a "non-alcoholic malt beverage" on school grounds during
school hours in public? In addition, what requirements, if any, are
there for the purchase of this type of beverage. The state in this
instance in New York State.

Hello.

The rules vary by school district.  Each school district is apparently
able to enact its own bylaws in accordance with the Regulations of the
Commissioner of Education, Part 100.2 (l).

In the Unatego Central School District, for example, non-alcoholic
beer would be prohibited as a "look-alike."

"A student shall be subject to disciplinary action in relation to the
following:
... being in possession of an alcoholic beverage or look-alikes on the
school premises "
source: Unatego Central School District: Conduct
http://www.unatego.k12.ny.us/conduct.html

On the other hand, at New York's Delaware Academy High School, a
beverage with absolutely zero alcoholic content might be acceptable
because that school's rules state that, "Alcoholic beverages shall
mean and include alcohol, spirits, liquor, wine, beer and cider having
alcoholic content."
http://www.da.k12.ny.us/highschool/hstudenthandbook.html

As for the the general question of whether New York State Liquor
Authority's age requirement applies to non-alcoholic beverages, here's
the official word from
the New York State Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control:

"How old do you have to be to purchase non-alcoholic beverages?
Non-alcoholic beverages do not come within the jurisdiction of the
State Liquor Authority, except with respect to the so-called
non-alcoholic wines which contain tiny percentages of alcohol. Such
wines have been classified by the State Liquor Authority as standard
wines that can only be sold in New York State for off-premises
consumption by package store licensees. Non-alcoholic products may not
be sold in this state by package stores. They may be sold by grocery
and delicatessen stores, whether licensed or not. They may be served
by on-premises licensees for consumption on the premises, and used by
these licensees in the preparation of cocktails and other alcoholic
drinks."
source: New York State ABC 
http://abc.state.ny.us/JSP/content/faq.jsp#compliance11

search strategy: "new york state," "non-alcoholic beverages"
school, disciplinary, "new york", alcoholic, possession

I hope this helps.

---

Request for Answer Clarification by alakon-ga on 07 May 2003 16:17 PDT

Could you clarify if it is illegal for a grocery store and/or bar to
sell a non-alcoholic drink to a minor? Your answer did not discuss
age. Assuming it is not a federal or state issue, the location I am
interested in is Nassau County, NY.

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Clarification of Answer by juggler-ga on 07 May 2003 17:02 PDT

Hi.

Sorry that my answer was unclear.

The relevant language above:

"Non-alcoholic beverages do not come within the jurisdiction of the
State Liquor Authority, except with respect to the so-called
non-alcoholic wines which contain tiny percentages of alcohol."
http://abc.state.ny.us/JSP/content/faq.jsp#compliance11 

The clear implication of this statement is that the age requirement
would NOT apply to beer that contained no alcohol but WOULD apply to
so-called non-alcoholic wine.


Also see: New York's Alcohol Beverage Control law:
"§ 65. Prohibited sales.  No person shall sell, deliver or give away
or
cause or permit or procure to be sold, delivered or given away any
alcoholic beverages to
  1.  Any  person,  actually  or apparently, under the age of
twenty-one
years;"
http://assembly.state.ny.us/leg/?cl=5&a=6

There is no mention for any age requirement for non-alcoholic beer.

---

Clarification of Answer by juggler-ga on 07 May 2003 17:28 PDT

I should really reiterate here that Google Answers is intended to
supply general information and is not a substitute for professional
legal advice.

If you have additional questions on the legal status of non-alcoholic
beer, you should probably contact:
Alcohol Beverage Control
(212) 417-5123
http://abc.state.ny.us/JSP/content/publicAffairs.jsp

Provided best possible answer under the circumstances, refering me to
the appropiate governmental institution to continue my search, but
without the legal restrictions Google creates.

Non-alcoholic beers almost always (always?) contain alcohol, see here:
http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-alcoholic_beer and here:
http://brewery.org/brewery/library/AlClbinger.html (toward the
bottom).  Thus, it appears that "non-alcoholic" beers are categorized
by NY state as normal wines (see the posted answer) and it would thus
be illegal to sell them to a minor.  As as side note, once I found
myself in a restaurant/bar without identification (lost my wallet) and
was refused an O'Douls for just this reason, though it was in
Illinois.

There are apparently a few beers that do claim to be totally non-alcoholic.

" Bavaria non-alcoholic beer is the only beer that has 0.0% alcohol. "
http://www.beersince1933.com/bavaria_holland_beer.htm

Thank you for the tip.
-juggler