Pubdate: Thu, 31 Aug 2006 Source: Daily Review (PA) Copyright: 2006 The Daily Review Contact: http://www.thedailyreview.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1015 Author: James Loewenstein Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/testing.htm (Drug Test) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth) PROGRAM FEATURES VOLUNTARY DRUG TESTS FOR 7TH GRADERS TOWANDA -- The Towanda School District is launching a voluntary drug-testing program for seventh-graders, which will reward students for testing drug-free. Students who test drug-free will receive discounts from local merchants and/or free passes to school sporting events and dances, according to written information supplied by Steven Gobble, principal of Towanda Junior/Senior High School. Students must volunteer to participate in the program, and they would need their parents' permission to participate, too, Gobble said. "This is an opportunity for those students who have not given into peer pressure to be rewarded for their positive behavior," Gobble wrote in a letter to parents. "The purpose of this program is to promote positive behavior and to deter young children from ever trying drugs in the first place." The drug testing would take place in the nurse's office at the junior/senior high school, Gobble said. The drug test would be administered by an employee from Memorial Hospital, he said. Early in this term, all participating students will submit to an initial drug test, which would consist of an oral swab, Gobble said. If a student tests negative, he will receive an identification badge. "The student can use this badge to receive discounts from local merchants and/or free passes to school sporting events and dances," Gobble wrote in the letter to parents. Over the course of the school year, students will be randomly selected to participate in a second or possibly third drug test, Gobble said. If a student tests positive for drugs, his identification badge would be revoked, Gobble said. Also, the students' parents will be notified by mail of the results of the drug tests. If the result is positive, additional materials will be sent to the child's parents to help them "best deal with the situation, including information about drug and alcohol counseling opportunities," Gobble said. In addition, if the student tests positive for drugs, he or she would be referred to a Student Assistance Program counselor, Gobble said. The referral will "ensure that the student receives the necessary help and resources needed to deal with the immediate situation," Gobble said. A local non-profit organization, Partners in Family & Community Development, is providing assistance to the program, Gobble said. "Drug testing will be done by Memorial Hospital and the results will be sent to Partners in Family & Community Development," Gobble wrote in a letter to parents. "All information will be kept strictly confidential at Partners in Family & Community Development. The school administration and school staff will never be given the results of the test." "Identification numbers will be put on information reported to conceal the identity of the students," Gobble wrote. The school will not discipline any student who has received a positive drug test, and their names will not be turned over to the police, Gobble said. The student who tests positive would not be allowed to re-join the program until he had successfully passed two consecutive drug tests. Other school districts in the United States have implemented similar programs, Gobble said. While the discounts that will be offered to students have not yet been determined, they might include discounts on food, snacks, video games and movie tickets, Gobble indicated. - --- MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman