Pubdate: Thu, 26 May 2005
Source: Athens News, The (OH)
Copyright: 2005, Athens News
Contact:  http://www.athensnews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1603
Author: Nick Claussen
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?225 (Students - United States)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/testing.htm (Drug Testing)

LOCAL HIGH-SCHOOL DRUG TESTING PROMPTS MIXED REACTIONS

Drug and alcohol testing may be coming soon to Alexander High School, but 
it already has been a way of life at the Nelsonville-York City School 
District for the last two years.

The Alexander Local School Board is expected to vote at its meeting next 
month on a new policy to test Alexander High School students for drugs, 
alcohol and tobacco.

Dave Kasler, president of the Alexander Local School Board, said Wednesday 
that students in athletics and all students who drive to school will be 
subjected to mandatory and random testing if the policy is approved.

A committee made up of community members, administrators, Athens County 
Sheriff's Office DARE officer Jimmy Childs, teachers and parents came up 
with the drug-testing policy, according to Kasler. The committee looked at 
drug-testing policies already in place at Nelsonville-York, Meigs and 
Wellston high schools, along with a sample policy supplied by the Ohio 
School Boards Association, Kasler said.

"We took bits and pieces from the other policies," he said. The policy is 
not intended to punish students who use alcohol, drugs or tobacco, Kasler 
stressed.

"Our real goal is prevention and counseling," he said. Students will be 
punished after multiple violations, while also receiving counseling, he 
explained.

"What we've been told from the districts that we have spoken to is that 
(student drug testing) does make a big difference," Kasler said.

Alexander Supt. Bob Bray said last week that while he expects the drug- and 
alcohol-testing program to be controversial, the school district has good 
reasons for the testing. If the policy is approved, he added, student 
athletes will be tested because they represent the school and because the 
district does not want them to be hurt while they're involved in practices 
or games while under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

The district considers it a privilege to drive to school, so all of the 
students who do so would be subjected to testing, Bray said. He added that 
district officials want students to be sober and drug-free if they are 
driving to school.

Megan Moseley, who will be president of the Alexander High School Student 
Council during the 2005-2006 school year, said that many students support 
the drug testing, but many oppose it, too.

"That's a really bold decision that they are making," Moseley said. She 
thinks the drug testing policy is a good idea for student-athletes, because 
athletics are related to the school.

"They have every right to do that," Moseley said, adding that she plays 
softball.

As for drug testing for students who drive to school, Moseley said she 
doesn't think that's such a good idea. The school is a public school and 
students should be able to park without being subject to drug testing, 
Moseley said.

"I haven't heard one good thing about the parking situation," she added.

While drugs and alcohol are not a big problem at Alexander, they are 
present at the school just as they are at every school, according to 
Moseley. "I don't think it's different from any other school," she said.

Moseley had heard about drug testing at Nelsonville-York High School and 
said she "saw it coming" that Alexander would soon start testing its athletes.

The Athens City School District does not have a drug-testing policy, and 
school Supt. Carl Martin said Wednesday that the school board members have 
not discussed implementing a policy.

According to an article in The Christian Science Monitor, the U.S. Supreme 
Court in 2002 upheld a public school's right to drug test students in 
extracurricular activities. Supporters of student drug testing say it's an 
effective way to keep high-school students off drugs and fight the nation's 
drug problem.

Opponents of drug testing, though, argue that the tests have not been 
proven to reduce drug use and that they violate students' privacy rights.

Opponents also argue that the testing calls for searching the students 
without probable cause and undermines the teacher-student relationship that 
can often guide students away from drugs and alcohol.

Gary Daniels, litigation coordinator for the American Civil Liberties Union 
(ACLU) of Ohio, said Wednesday that the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that 
schools can get away with drug testing of students under certain 
circumstances, such as for student in athletics or extra-curricular activities.

"The ACLU... does not agree with that analysis of the Fourth Amendment and 
students' rights," Daniels said. "We think it totally turns on its head the 
time-honored American legal tradition of being innocent until proven guilty."

Americans would not want adults to be subjected to random drug testing, but 
for some reason they think it's perfectly acceptable to test high-school 
students, Daniels said.

"The most effective way (to fight the drug testing) is for students and 
parents to register objections with the school board," Daniels said. He 
added that student drug testing is a bad idea for several reasons and that 
hopefully students and parents will register their objections to the new 
policy.

AT NELSONVILLE-YORK High School, drug, alcohol and tobacco testing has been 
a weekly routine for the last two years.

"We just completed the second year. The kids are pretty much in line," said 
Principal Mick McClelland. The Nelsonville-York Middle School also performs 
drug testing, he added.

"I honestly believe it has changed some kids' lives," McClelland said. "And 
if it only changes one, it is worth it."

During the 2004-2005 school year, Nelsonville-York High School performed 
520 random drug tests, McClelland said. Of those tests, 24 were positive, 
he confirmed.

All students in sports, band and choir are tested, McClelland said. Once 
students' names are on the list once for sports, band or choir, they are 
always on the list for drug testing even if they are no longer involved in 
the activities, he said. Parents can have their children's names taken off 
the list, however, if they are no longer involved in the activities, 
McClelland said. Parents also can have their children's names added to the 
drug-testing list if they wish, even if the children are not in sports, 
band or choir.

At the beginning of every sports season, every athlete involved with the 
sport is tested, McClelland said. And during the first week of school, 
every student in band and choir is tested.

After the initial tests, the drug-testing company, which is based in 
Columbus, selects names randomly, and those students are pulled out of 
class for the urine tests, McClelland said. He usually tests between 12 and 
18 students each week, and no one knows who will be tested until McClelland 
gets the list of names. The samples are always split in half in case there 
is a question about the testing, he added.

Students could get tested two weeks in a row, and during the first year, 
one students was chosen randomly for testing five out of the first six 
weeks, McClelland said.

The first time a student is found positive, the drug-testing company 
notifies the student's parents and McClelland. The students then have to 
enter a counseling program (even if it's for only one session, as decided 
by the counselor), and the student is subjected to mandatory testing the 
next three weeks, according to McClelland.

The second time a student is found positive, the student has to receive 
more counseling and drug tests, and the student is suspended from sports, 
band or choir for four weeks.

"Now the teacher or the coach knows about it," McClelland said. If the 
student is in band or choir, the student's grade is not affected. The 
students can take part in the sports, band and choir practices, but cannot 
take part in games or performances during the suspensions.

After the third positive, the students are suspended from sports, band or 
choir for a full calendar year, and after a fourth positive the students 
are banned from sports, band or choir for the entire time they are students 
at Nelsonville-York High School, McClelland said.

"I've had students hit every level," McClelland confirmed. Marijuana has 
been the main drug found in the testing so far, although some prescription 
medications that were not prescribed to the students were also found in the 
testing, he said. The testing looks for drugs, alcohol and tobacco, he added.

"I can guarantee you that it has changed some of the kids here," he said.

Several students used to do rub (a type of chewing tobacco), but thanks to 
the drug testing the students stopped, McClelland said. He added that he 
has heard from some families who told him they like the drug testing.

"It's a good program," he said.

Jordan Bateman, president of the Nelsonville-York High School Student 
Council, said she believes the drug testing has made a difference at the 
school.

Drugs and alcohol were not a big problem with students in sports, band and 
choir, she said, but the testing has cut down on the students in these 
activities who do drugs or alcohol. She is an athlete and she does not mind 
being tested, she said.

The only problem Bateman sees with the testing is that it does not go far 
enough. She would like to see testing for students besides just those in 
sports, band and choir.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom