Pubdate: Tue, 16 Mar 2004 Source: Daily Herald (IL) Copyright: 2004 The Daily Herald Company Contact: http://www.dailyherald.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/107 Author: Dave Orrick, Daily Herald Staff Writer Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/testing.htm (Drug Testing) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?225 (Students - United States) SCHOOL DRUG TESTING TO GET PUSH Amid mixed reaction in the suburbs to the Bush administration's support of mandatory drug testing for students, a gang of hand-picked experts and supporters today are gathering in Schaumburg with hopes of persuading more schools to consider the option. Two Lake County school districts have adopted variations of the program, but others in the suburbs have scorned it as a heavy-handed tactic that doesn't focus on prevention. The White House's message today: It's not to punish, it's to prevent - through deterrence. "One of our themes is 'deter and refer,'ae" said Dr. Andrea Barthwell, deputy director for demand reduction for the Office of National Drug Control Policy. She said that under the administration's proposal, only the parents, principal and appropriate counselors would be told when a student fails a drug test. "Then there's an intervention, and we seek help for the student," she said. Barthwell's remarks came at a media briefing Monday in advance of today's event, described as a "summit" on student drug testing. A spokesman acknowledged that the timing of the event - on Election Day when many school leaders will spend the day focusing on school ballot issues - is less than ideal. Technically, Barthwell said, the White House isn't pushing anything on local schools. "We want schools to know about this tool, and we want people to be aware of how useful it can be," she said. And they want school officials to know there's a pot of more than $20 million in grants to pay for such programs contained in President Bush's proposed 2005 budget. Bush announced the initiative in January during his State of the Union address. Although civil liberties groups oppose mandatory testing, the idea got a shot in the arm in 2002, when the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of a program that tested students in extracurricular activities. Since then, high-schoolers involved in extracurricular activities in Antioch and Zion have been subject to testing. Antioch leaders say it's been a success. But other school leaders, from Naperville Central to Northwest Suburban District 214, have just said no to testing in the past. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake