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. - --- MAP posted-by: Larry Stevens