Pubdate: Wed, 26 Sep 2005 Source: Rutland Herald (VT) Copyright: 2005 Rutland Herald Contact: http://www.rutlandherald.com Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/892 Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/testing.htm (Drug Test) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?225 (Students - United States) KEEPING BUSY Rutland High School students who have been caught using drugs or alcohol may get a break under a new rule being reviewed by the School Board. Essentially the new rule, if adopted, would allow these students to continue to participate in extracurricular activities if they agree to take random drug tests. The cost of the drug tests would be paid for by their families. The move to offer random drug testing is considered a softening of the school's current policy, which mandates levels of punishment based on the infraction. A first offense can bring a suspension from 25 percent of the activity -- usually the athletic schedule -- plus community service and counseling. A third offense can mean expulsion from all activities until graduation. Offering a third option, a year's worth of random drug testing, could mean students would avoid suspensions from their after-school activities. The School Board is to be applauded for taking a serious look at this well intentioned idea. National estimates are that about half of all teens are users of drugs and alcohol. Many, many of them are also making commitments to doing school plays, joining school clubs and playing sports. All the research shows that the best way to keep young people from using drugs and alcohol is to keep them busy -- and that means involved in sports and other school activities. If the students are engaged in these pursuits there is simply less time to get into trouble. While other schools in other states have instituted random drug testing for all students involved in extracurricular activities, the Rutland plan is appropriate in that it would be reserved for the culprits and not the general student body. Although the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled drug testing is constitutional for students involved in athletics, it still spurs emotional debate in school communities with some who see the tests as an invasion of a student's privacy. That said, drug testing is not without its problems. Depending on the test, it won't detect all substances. The School Board will want to make sure that the tests used here will detect tobacco and alcohol -- the most commonly abused substances -- as well as other drugs. How effective the tests will be in keeping students clean is debatable. Drug testing does not differentiate between students who are regularly abusing and those who experiment. A study of Michigan schools shows no difference in the number of teens using drugs between schools that test and those that don't. Finally, there's the cost of testing itself. Twelve months of drug tests could easily become out of reach for some families, effectively canceling out an option that may most help their child. In adding random drug testing to its arsenal of tactics to keep students drug-free, the School Board has landed on a punishment that fits the crime. Now the board will have to make sure that it is a punishment that is available to all students, not just those with the means to take that option. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake