Pubdate: Fri, 15 Aug 2008 Source: Focus Daily News (TX) Copyright: 2008 Focus Daily News Contact: http://focusdailynews.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3038 Author: Rita Cook Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/testing.htm (Drug Testing) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth) A TEST YOU WON'T WANT TO FAIL With about 1,800 to 2,000 students in the athletic department alone in CHISD, the implementation of a substance abuse program will be a daunting process. The program will include random drug testing for students in grades 7 to 12 participating in extracurricular activities or those who drive to school. This means with the start of school just weeks ahead, Drug Testing Coordinator, Sabrina Smith will certainly have her work cut out for her. "Each time we have a random test it will be five percent of the student's in the program," she notes. She also adds that she is not sure exactly how many students will be affected overall by the program. "We have not determined how many students overall that will be included yet, we don't have all of our students drivers here. Extracurricular athletics alone we have approximately 1800 to 2000 kids and that does not include band, choir, drill and all that, just athletics." The students involved will be from Permenter Middle School, Bessie Coleman Middle School, Ninth Grade Center and Cedar Hill High School. Parents and students will have a chance to learn more and ask questions at the next Drug Testing Policy Informational Meeting on Saturday, August 16. Students and parents will be asked to sign a consent form allowing for the random drug testing in order for students in the affected grades to participate in school activities. Students will not be able to participate until both the parent and the student has signed the form authorizing the student's participation in the program. In addition, if a parent does not consent to their child being tested, then the student will not be able to participate in school sponsored extracurricular activities. Students will also not be allowed to participate in practice or the activity until the consent form is signed. If a student ends his or her participation in the extracurricular activity in the middle of the year or season then he or she will pulled from the random drug-testing pool. Additionally, if a student quits his or her participation in an extracurricular activity after receiving confirmed positive results, but later wants to participate in an extracurricular activity he or she must also complete all suspension requirements prior to participating in any future extracurricular activities. Students are chosen randomly and might be ask to take the test more than one time as well. Random drug testing in schools is not a new concept. At www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov it notes that "Since the Supreme Court of the United States upheld the constitutionality of school-based random student drug testing in 1995 and 2002, the demand for random student drug testing has outpaced the Department of Education's grant award program, which has awarded over $40 million to roughly 140 educational and health entities to develop, implement, or expand random student drug testing since 2003. Random student drug testing programs test students who opt-into the drug testing program with their parents' or guardians' consent; participate in school athletic programs; or engage in competitive, extracurricular, school-sponsored activities." Random student drug testing has become even more popular across the nation over the past five years because of the Federal Grant Program with over 4,000 schools nationwide having already implemented a random student drug testing program. "Student drug testing programs promote safer, healthier school environments where students can work toward achieving their full potential," U.S. Department of Education Secretary Margaret Spellings said. "A good student drug testing program helps students defy peer pressure and say 'no' to drugs and alcohol, and provides the opportunity for at-risk students to get the support they need." In Cedar Hill the drug-testing will include a four-step process: collection, screening, confirmation, and review. Urinalysis will be the testing method used, which is normally recommended for its accuracy and reliability. Students will be tested for any substances that are illegal to buy, possess, use, sell, or distribute under state or federal law, including but not limited to marijuana, cocaine, phencyclidine (PCP), propoxyphene, opiates, methamphetamines, hallucinogens, and metabolites of any of these substances; prescription drugs; performance-enhancing drugs, including steroids and alcohol. Students taking prescription drugs must provide a copy of the prescription. In the frequently ask questions posting at the Cedar Hill Independent School District website it was noted that "Cedar Hill ISD is concerned about the academic, physical and emotional well-being of all its students, and believes it has a responsibility to assist students in dealing with a variety of teen issues including drug and alcohol use. The drug testing program is designed to identify students in need of help and to provide them, and their parents, with the necessary opportunity to deal with substance abuse." The objectives of the program were listed as serving as the foundation for the program: * To ensure the health and safety of all students who represent the District in any extracurricular activities; * To serve as a deterrent to the use of illegal drugs, performance-enhancing drugs, and/or alcohol among the student body; * To offer students a credible means to resist peer pressure as it relates to the use of illegal drugs, performance-enhancing drugs, and/or alcohol; * To provide a ready resource of support and assistance to any student who may be using illegal drugs, performance-enhancing drugs, and/or alcohol. "We are excited about the opportunity for this to be a deterrent for our kids. We are obviously in the kid business and we want to do everything we possibly can to help them make good decisions," notes Gina Farmer, Cedar Hill's Athletic Director.