Pubdate: Mon, 14 Oct 2002
Source: Tribune Review (PA)
Copyright: 2002 Tribune-Review Publishing Co.
Contact:  http://triblive.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/460
Author: Dominick DiRienzo

STUDENT DRUG POLICY COULD BE ACCELERATED

The wait-and-see year might shrink to the wait-and-see semester for the 
only Pittsburgh-area school district with mandatory student drug testing.

In the first year of a drug-testing policy for student athletes and 
students who want to park on campus, Seneca Valley School District 
officials had said they wanted to see how the first year of the program 
worked before considering any expansion.

School directors approved a drug-testing policy in July that forced 
students who want to drive to school or play sports to pass a drug 
screening. In June, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that drug testing any 
student involved in extracurricular activities was constitutional. At that 
time, school officials said they did not have enough time to answer 
questions about how much more an expanded policy would cost or how it would 
be implemented.

Board President Dean Berkebile said the program has run so smoothly that 
implementing an expanded program should be manageable and could begin 
immediately.

The board has asked the administration to provide estimates for the cost of 
expanding the program on a limited basis. The next phase could include 
testing students in marching band, the band and students in the all-school 
musical, or all students involved in extracurricular activities.

"We have gotten a significant amount of feedback," board member John Mitro 
said. "Most of the kids and parents have told me they think this was a 
tremendous step."

Mitro said if all the extracurricular activities are included, the pool 
could grow by 500 students.

The board will discuss expanding the policy at 6:30 p.m. today in the 
intermediate high school auditorium. They also could vote to expand the 
program.

Mitro said the policy can be amended that quickly because the board is not 
making a radical change to the policy, and they are talking about including 
a group that can legally be drug tested.

Board President Dean Berkebile said he did not have any idea how many more 
students the policy would reach if it was expanded to all extracurricular 
activities. The expanded testing would increase the program's reach to 
junior high and intermediate school students who do not drive and don't 
play sports.

School administrators budgeted $40,000 for the testing this year which 
covered 1,300 students. Mitro said he did not know how the increased pool 
would affect the cost.

He said even if the increased pool added another $20,000 to the testing 
budget, it would still be worth the money spent.

Since the start of school, more than 200 students have been randomly 
tested, yielding three positives. Among the 1,234 students initially 
tested, three more came up positive. The district does not name the 
student, the substance or whether it was a student driver or student 
athlete who failed the test.

Parents pay $26 for the initial test.

Of the 7,600 students in the district, about 3,300 are in the secondary grades.

Because the marching band is in the middle of its season, its members would 
not have to pass an initial test but would immediately be inserted into the 
random pool. Students involved in concert band or any music-related class 
that is graded would not have to take a drug test. Federal law says 
students in graded classes can not be tested.

The district covers the cost of weekly random tests. Since the initial 
tests, 40 to 45 athletes and parking permit holders have been randomly 
selected for testing each week from grades 7 through 12.

The first positive results in a 14-day suspension from sports or of parking 
privileges. The violation can be removed from a student's record by passing 
12 monthly tests and attending drug counseling.

The second offense would lead to a year-long suspension of privileges. A 
third positive test in a six-year period would mean a permanent suspension 
from sports or a permanent loss of a parking pass. The same rules would 
apply to any other activities included in the testing program.

"It is still up for discussion as to whether we include more students in 
the testing program," Mitro said.
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MAP posted-by: Larry Stevens