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. 
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake