Pubdate: Wed, 12 Jul 2006
Source: USA Today (US)
Copyright: 2006 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc
Contact:  http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/index.htm
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/466
Author: Donna Leinwand, USA TODAY
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/coke.htm (Cocaine)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/testing.htm (Drug Test)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?219 (Students for Sensible Drug Policy)

PRINCIPAL: DRUG-TESTING STUDENTS WORKS

High school principal Chris Steffner says she's seen many efforts to 
keep teens from using drugs: education programs, "Just Say No" 
campaigns, scary speeches from people who were caught driving drunk.

"None of those things have any lasting impact," she says. "Peer 
pressure is so strong."

That's why, Steffner says, she's a cheerleader for random drug 
testing of students. She tells other principals about the testing 
program she helped oversee for the past two years at Hackettstown 
High School, a 700-student campus in northern New Jersey.

During the program's first year, 10% of Hackettstown's students were 
tested randomly from a pool of students who took part in after-school 
activities or who drove to school. One student tested positive, she 
says. Last year, 25% of the students were screened. No one tested 
positive. The results show testing deters teen drug use, Steffner 
says: "It works in the workplace and it works in the military. Why 
wouldn't it work in a school?" At a time when drug testing is 
expanding in schools, precisely how well it works in reducing drug 
use among middle and high school students is a much-debated topic. 
Surveys by the University of Michigan indicate that teens' use of 
most drugs is stable or down slightly this year. Analysts are trying 
to find out whether testing might lower the numbers further. TO 
REDUCE USE: More schools test for drugs The number of schools 
screening students for street drugs such as cocaine and marijuana -- 
and for performance enhancers such as steroids -- has jumped since 
the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2002 that testing athletes and those 
involved in competitive extracurricular activities did not violate 
their privacy rights.

However, only about 2% of the nation's 28,000 middle and high schools 
have testing policies. Meanwhile, drug education programs are 
everywhere, and many other factors -- from teens' whims to the 
economy -- have been cited as affecting drug use rates.

Little research has been done on testing's impact on student drug use 
because it's difficult and expensive to study, says Lloyd Johnston of 
the Monitoring the Future study at the University of Michigan, which 
surveys 50,000 students a year. And yet, concern about student drug 
use -- including recent increases in the use of prescription drugs 
and steroids -- has led hundreds of systems to embrace testing.

The Supreme Court said a school system's duty to provide a safe, 
drug-free environment outweighs students' expectations of privacy. 
Now, Hackettstown and a few other systems -- such as the one in 
Hagerstown, Ind. -- are using the court's standard to justify 
expanding random testing beyond students who are in sports or other 
competitive after-school activities. It's unclear whether such plans 
will draw new legal challenges.

The Bush administration has been a key player in expanding student 
drug testing. The White House has asked Congress to boost federal 
grants for testing programs by 45% next year, to $15 million.

"The administration is pushing this like never before," says Tom 
Angell, campaign director for Students for Sensible Drug Policy in 
Washington, D.C., which opposes drug testing. Angell, who says he 
often hears from parents and students who oppose testing, estimates 
one school board a week adopts a testing plan.

Even so, many systems have resisted testing because of its cost and 
questions about its necessity. Privacy laws in several states also 
pose legal hurdles, despite the Supreme Court's stance on testing. 
Bush "elevated it to a level of prominence, so some schools are going 
to start doing it," says Graham Boyd of the ACLU's Drug Law Reform 
Project. But "most school administrators want programs that work and 
don't want to needlessly invade students' privacy."

The ACLU argues that testing destroys trust between students and 
schools and discourages teens from joining after-school activities. 
The group also questions testing's effectiveness. Research is 
inconclusive. In a 2003 study, Johnston and a colleague suggested 
drug usage rates at schools with no testing were about the same as 
those of schools that had testing. In 2005, a Ball State University 
survey found declines in drug use at 58% of 54 Indiana high schools 
that had testing.

Such reports have inspired a few systems to expand drug testing to 
virtually all students.

The Nettle Creek school district in Hagerstown, Ind., will launch a 
program this fall involving most secondary school students: not just 
athletes and club members, but also those who drive to school or want 
to attend school dances. Superintendent Joe Backmeyer says the goal 
is to protect students' privacy and minimize embarrassment. Students 
will be chosen randomly by number and a saliva sample will be taken, 
instead of the more common urine testing. Counseling will be provided 
for those testing positive.
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman