Pubdate: Tue, 29 Jul 2003
Source: Rocky Mount Telegram, The (NC)
Copyright: 2003 Cox Newspapers, Inc.
Contact:  http://www.rockymounttelegram.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1751
Author: Jaime Bender
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/testing.htm (Drug Testing)

EDGECOMBE MOVES CLOSER TO DRUG TESTING

TARBORO - The Edgecombe County Board of Education on Monday unanimously
approved a brand-new policy that would allow high school principals to
administer random drug testing to athletes at their schools.

The school system had no prior policy governing drug testing, and
Superintendent Dr. Steve Stone said the new policy was not created in
response to any specific incidents of drug use among student athletes.

"We're simply trying to be proactive. This isn't a result of any problem or
trend that we've encountered within any of the schools," Stone said.
"Parents shouldn't have to worry that their kids are playing on the same
team as someone who is taking drugs."

Only the first reading of the policy has been presented to the board, and
the policy committee will return at the next meeting with a required second
reading of the policy, said board attorney Jonathan Blumberg. At that point,
the administration will give principals the right to test athletes for
drugs.

However, Blumberg said, the tests must be strictly random and cannot be used
to target individual students. For example, a principal cannot administer a
test to a specific student based on secondhand or presumed information about
that student, he said.

"For-cause testing is not covered by this policy," Blumberg said. "If
someone has a suspicion, or a principal is getting complaints that the
outfielders on a baseball team are using drugs, testing only those students
would be a misuse of the policy."

Although the policy has not officially been enacted, administrators still
will begin sending permission slips home to parents of student athletes so
they will be aware that the policy has been drafted.

Stone said he doesn't expect any opposition from parents or the community
about testing for drugs, despite backlash from liberal organizations and
community members in other North Carolina school districts that have
established drug-testing policies.

Stanley, Gaston, Ashe, Northhampton and Cumberland County school systems all
have random drug testing for athletes. Winston-Salem/Forsythe Schools
randomly tests students who participate in extracurricular activities.

Nash-Rocky Mount Schools has no official drug testing policy for athletes.

Also on Monday night, the board unanimously voted to re-elect Evelyn Wilson
as chairwoman and Ann R. Kent as vice-chairwoman of the board. Each member
thanked the board for its support and confidence in their leadership.

Board members approved the purchase of 20 computers to be used for a
business education class at SouthWest Edgecombe High School, and also
approved revisions to the student conduct code, the promotion policy and the
handling of student records.
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