Pubdate: Sat, 08 Apr 2006
Source: The Daily News (Longview, WA)
Copyright: 2006 The Daily News
Contact:   http://www.tdn.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3922
Author: Hope Anderson
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/testing.htm (Drug Test)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth)

LAWSUIT TAKES ON SCHOOL DRUG TESTS

After more than six years, a lawsuit challenging  Wahkiakum School 
District's policy of conducting random  drug tests of student 
athletes will finally get its day  in court this week.

The controversy began in 1999 when Wahkiakum school  officials began 
testing middle- and high-school  athletes in an effort to curb drug 
use, which school  officials said was reaching epidemic levels.

Parents of two student athletes objected to the tests,  which were 
required for participation in school sports.  The parents, 
represented by the American Civil  Liberties Union, sued to ban the tests.

Hans and Katherine York and Paul and Sharon Schneider,  all of 
Cathlamet, and the ACLU argue that the testing  is unconstitutional 
because it's administered without  suspicion of wrongdoing.

The school district, represented by Wahkiakum County  Prosecutor Fred 
Johnson, contends that a compelling  interest in reducing drug use 
overrides any invasion of  privacy.

Both parties have requested a summary judgment. The  civil rights 
group and the school district will present  oral arguments in 
Wahkiakum County's Superior Court at  10 a.m. Thursday, and a final 
decision will be made  sometime thereafter.

The summary judgment motion may truncate a lengthy  trial, Johnson 
said. "Everyone is saying there aren't  any factual disputes, just 
legal disputes," he said  last week.

This will be the first court decision in Washington  regarding school 
drug testing, and the ultimate  decision may decide how aggressively 
schools statewide  can test for drugs.

"It's good that we're moving along," Johnson said. "I  think this is 
an issue that needs to be resolved, and  that's why the Wahkiakum 
School District, though it's  not the largest district in the state 
by far, is  pursing this. ... It's an issue of significance to the 
schools and students in the state of Washington."

The lawsuit has taken a roundabout path to trial.  Although the 
district has halted testing pending a  trial, the ACLU carried the 
issue to the Court of  Appeals after a judge refused to issue an 
injunction  against the tests.

A 2002 appeals court decision, which on the one hand  said the issue 
was moot and on the other hand agreed  with the school district, 
allowed the lawsuit to go  forward in Superior Court.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman