Pubdate: Wed, 14 Feb 2001 Source: Log Cabin Democrat (AR) Copyright: The Log Cabin Democrat Contact: 1058 Front Street . Conway, Arkansas . 72032 Fax: 501-327-6787 Feedback: http://www.thecabin.net/contact/letters.shtml Website: http://thecabin.net/ Author: David Bennett - Log Cabin Staff Writer SCHOOL BOARD PROPOSES STUDENT DRUG TESTING POLICY A drug testing policy has been proposed for Conway students. The Conway School District's Board of Education heard Conway High School-West Assistant Principal Mickey Siler discuss the fine points of the proposal at the board's Tuesday meeting. Administrators decided to look at a testing policy after a 1999 survey showed significant drug and alcohol use by students. The board will review Tuesday's proposal for a month and discuss it further at the March meeting. The survey of grades seven through 12 was funded by a grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse and conducted by Colorado State University's Department of Psychology. It was taken near the end of November 1999, and students answered anonymously. The results indicated about 20.6 percent of the juniors and 22.3 percent of the seniors got drunk or used drugs nearly every weekend or more frequently. About 18.3 percent of the juniors and 21.4 percent of the seniors used drugs occasionally, most of them only a few times a year. But most juniors and seniors, 61.1 percent and 56.3 percent respectively, are either drug free, have only tried a drug, or are only light alcohol users. At the time of the survey, Siler said the numbers are consistent with national averages. Most drug and alcohol use also seems to be occurring away from school grounds. The responses indicate a lot of the local drug and alcohol use is occurring during the weekends at student parties. "Our students are experimenting with a lot of drugs and there seems to be more all of the time," Siler said. School officials based the proposal on others that had passed court challenges in other school districts. He said the proposal would require random drug testing of all students participating in extracurricular activities. Under the proposal, Siler said, each student would be assigned a number. When it is time for the drug tests, the testing company would tell the district to assemble certain numbers. The agency would not know who the students are beforehand. "It's being done in a lot of places," Siler said. In 1999, Vilonia and Greenbrier adopted policies requiring random drug tests for all students participating in extracurricular activities. Mayflower adopted a policy requiring tests for students in athletic and cheerleading programs. Those policies were put into practice over the 1999-2000 school year. Students who test positive for drugs would be temporarily suspended from extracurricular activities and required to seek counseling or treatment. Siler said the proposal also includes an appeals process for students who test positive. He said a lot of parents and school officials who discussed the matter agreed the policy should include some way to deal with mistaken tests. "Occasionally, there is what is called a 'false positive,'" Siler said. That can happen when students are taking medication or for other reasons. Siler said students appealing the result would also have the chance to produce a second sample for another test. Superintendent Steve Fulmer said few student drug testing policies include an appeals process. "We just feel more comfortable with it," Fulmer said. "We just hope we can administer it properly." If the policy is approved, Siler said some details will still need to be worked out. One of them is how to summon students to the office for testing without letting the rest of the student body know what is going on. "Of course, confidentiality would be an issue," Siler said. "We rely on people's professionalism and do not feel that would be a problem." Confidentiality is necessary because there would be legal limits to what the district could publicly discuss about testing results. "It's not our place to provide that information," said board President Dr. Terry Fiddler, adding that he fears word would get out among the students and cause problems. "If they find out, it better be from somebody that's not one of us," Siler said. "If somebody does slip up," Fiddler said, "they've got a problem too. This is a professional situation. It stays in house." "A drug testing policy is not a cure all," Siler said, adding that it would be one component of a comprehensive drug program for the district. "It gives them an excuse to say, 'No,' and they can blame it on us." - --- MAP posted-by: GD