Pubdate: Wed, 26 Jun 2002 Source: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (PA) Copyright: 2002 PG Publishing Contact: http://www.post-gazette.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/341 Author: Ruth Ann Baker DRUG POLICY CAN DO ONLY SO MUCH Leaders of the Shaler Area School District are wondering what to do about human nature -- specifically, the unpredictable, curious and secretive aspects of human nature usually contained in the teen-age size of the species. They're also wondering how much to spend to control it. Their efforts are a microcosm of a struggle facing school districts nationwide. But what if they're missing a bigger problem? At its last meeting, the Shaler school board discussed how broadly to apply a proposed drug-testing policy for the district. Do we test only our athletes? Do we test all kids involved in after-school activities? Do we randomly test the entire student population? Should the tests be voluntary or not? After a decade or so of fitful subsidence, drug use is rising pretty much everywhere. School board members -- some of whom are themselves subject to random workplace drug tests -- know how much drug abuse costs both the individual and society. A newly proposed policy, sent back to committee for further review, calls for weekly random screenings for the district's 400 athletes in grades seven through 12. The tests would cover only a portion of that population in any given week and would cost $20,000 per year. Right now, the district relies on observation and referrals to figure out who needs help and discipline. When kids use drugs, "their grades, their attendance, their personalities are somehow going to be altered," says Shaler Superintendent Donald Lee. "Sometimes it's parents who call us. They say, 'My child has a new group of friends. They're not interested in the things they used to be. Can you help us out?'" Teachers and staff are trained to look for such symptoms, and "as they see a change in the student's behavior or performance, they report it to the Student Assistance Program team, they have meetings to talk about it and look into indivdual situations." But the costly tests proposed as another tool for helpful intervention won't be able to detect this and every district's biggest drug problem: alcohol. The tests detect "steroids or marijuana or opiates, but they can't get at alcohol," Lee said. "Alcohol is a bigger problem. Alcohol consumption by people under 21 is a big concern everywhere." Underage drinking is the most popular form of drug abuse among teen-age athletes, Lee said. "Sometimes we learn through arrests made in the community at a weekend party. That's how we resolve alcohol problems with athletes." Shaler's current policy uses a "sliding scale" to determine punishment -- a week's suspension and some counseling for a first-time offense, four to six weeks' suspension and more substantial counseling or intervention if a second infraction occurs within a year of the first. "I'm assuming the new policy will have a similar approach," Lee said. But in the three years that Shaler's current policy has been in place, only "two or three kids have gone to the second level" of discipline, Lee said. "We've never had to ban anyone from a sport." That could mean that Shaler athletes aren't abusing alcohol and drugs much at all, or it could mean that the authorities aren't finding out about it. It seems that there are two different student groups school board members need to consider here: kids involved in sports and other extracurricular activities, and everybody else. It makes sense that the school would want those who represent the district on various teams to be drug-free, and the random testing policy recently proposed makes sense. But if alcohol abuse is the bigger problem and the tests don't detect it, then another remedy has to be considered. Either school officials must test for alcohol use -- an invasive blood test -- or they must ask parents to cooperate with a district-wide policy against allowing kids to attend unchaperoned parties. (Any sensible parent isn't going to allow a teen-ager to attend such a party and isn't going to take the kid's word for it, either, but apparently there's a shortage of sensible parents.) At almost no cost, the district could have athletes, band members, debaters, other young district representatives and their parents take a no partying pledge. And for kids who don't participate in after-school activities? They tend to find after-school activities of their own. Endless research shows that the hours from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. are the hours teens get into all kinds of trouble. If Shaler's money were mine to spend, I'd put it toward finding a way to make sure that all teens are busy and under the influence of caring adults during those hours of greatest need. Other than changing the structure of the American school day and the realities of human nature, though, Shaler's current drug policy does just about everything it can do. The rest is up to the parents. - --- MAP posted-by: Alex