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SCHOOLS STUDY DRUG TESTING

DOBSON - Drug testing may soon be a part of participating in clubs and sports for students in Surry County Schools.

The Surry County School Board is considering implementing a drug testing policy for all students who participate in extracurricular activities.

Board members discussed the ins and outs of drug testing at their meeting Monday night.  It is a topic the group has discussed before, but this time the board's attorney had more information regarding the legality of drug testing.

Surry and Wilkes County and Elkin City Schools do not currently drug test their athletes.  Yadkin has drug tested its students participating in extracurricular activities for two years.

"We have discussed enacting a drug policy all the way up from student athletes to extracurricular activities," Chairman Graham Atkinson said Monday.  "I believe, based on some things that I have heard, that some students involved in extracurricular activities may also be involved in drugs.  Based on that information, I have talked with ( board attorney ) Fred Johnson to see if he could talk about enacting a drug policy."

Johnson informed the board of case law that allows school systems to institute a random drug testing policy for student athletes and those that participate in extracurricular activities that was upheld by the U.S.  Supreme Court.  He recommended that the board write its policy based on that case and nearby school systems, like Winston-Salem/Forsyth and Yadkin, that have successfully instituted such programs.

"If a student participates in an extracurricular activity, then he or she is participating in something that is a privilege, so it can come with certain conditions," Johnson said.  "The students are representing others whether the students are in uniform on the field, playing in the band, or other after-school activities.

"The use of alcohol and drugs is a health hazard and in most cases it is illegal.  The purpose of this is to deter the use of alcohol and drugs to protect the students," he said.

George Webb, assistant superintendent of Yadkin County Schools, said Thursday he thinks the drug testing system has been effective.

"We have been real pleased with results," he said.  "The program is set up so the students can get help.  It is not designed to punish the students.  Anyone that participates in extracurricular activities is tested.  Also, at the high school, if a student wants a driving permit to come on campus, they can be submitted to drug testing.  Everything remains confidential so very few people know who the student is that is involved."

Atkinson, who is also a drug enforcement officer for the Surry County Sheriff's Office, said he has strong feelings about enacting a drug policy.

"Any student that has been gifted in the arts, or sports, or whatever, they should cherish that," Atkinson said.  "They are representing our schools ...  I am not proud that based on reliable information that some of our students are not cherishing that ...  I can't see any reason to not pursue a drug policy."

Board member Tim Dockery said he wants to make sure the drug testing would be effective if enacted.

"To me, the issues are evident," he said.  "Is the cost a problem? Is this an effective way to deter or stop it? The vast majority of students don't fall into this realm.  Maybe I am being naive, but I want to make sure that this is something that the children are comfortable with."

Atkinson said he does not feel that the drug test would be any more intrusive than the physical that the students must get before playing sports.

"It is difficult for me to open up the sports page and see a kid that is heralded as a hero and he's a doper," he said.

Johnson said the way the policy would work is if a student participated in an extracurricular activity, then the student and their parents would have to give consent to a random drug test.

If the results of the test came back positive, then the student would not be turned over to law enforcement, Johnson said.  Instead the student would be put into a counseling program and not be allowed to participate in extracurricular activities.

If a policy is enacted, the drug tests would be administered by Northern Surry Hospital in Mount Airy.  Each urinalysis would cost about $20.  The schools estimate 400 tests each year, an annual cost of about $8,000.

"We want to protect the student's privacy and also guard against a false positive," Johnson said.  "We would use a quality facility to ensure quality control and weed out any false positives."

There would be measures enacted to protect a student's privacy, Johnson told the board.

Johnson recommended that the school board get in touch with nearby school systems that perform drug testing to see if the systems feel that the random drug testing is effective.

"This would alert the students to the fact that if they wish to participate, they will be subject to drug testing," he said.  "This is not the same as if a school official suspects drug use.  We already have that covered.  This is random testing.  Your name is drawn out of a hat and it is your time to take the test."

The testing itself should act as a deterrent, Atkinson said.

"If we have a policy in place that says that you are going to be tested before you start and randomly the whole time you participate in extracurricular activities - if that is still not a deterrent, then we need to be looking at that student academically," Atkinson said.

If the policy is approved, Atkinson said he would like to see it enacted immediately.

"In my mind, if we passed this on Monday night, we'd be ready with the cups on Tuesday morning," he said.  "If we could do it that way, that is the way I would want to."

Johnson recommended to the board that it call a public forum to get parents' and students' input on the matter.

The board will have a sample policy to review at the November board meeting.