Pubdate: Wed, 20 Feb 2008
Source: Indianapolis Star (IN)
Copyright: 2008 Indianapolis Newspapers Inc.
Contact: http://www.indystar.com/help/contact/letters.html
Website: http://www.indystar.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/210
Author: Tim Evans
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/walters.htm (Walters, John)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?225 (Students - United States)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/testing.htm (Drug Testing)

DRUG CZAR VISITS INDIANAPOLIS

A Drug War At School

Educators Hear About Benefits Of Randomly Testing Students For Substance Abuse

Random drug testing of students is "an enormously  powerful 
prevention tool" that more communities and  school districts should 
embrace, the country's drug  czar told educators at a regional summit Tuesday.

"The most striking thing I hear in talking to students  is that the 
kids feel safer," said John Walters,  director of the White House 
Office of National Drug  Control Policy.

In addition to helping in the early identification of  students with 
drug problems, which improves the chances  for successful treatment, 
he said the threat of testing  makes it easier for students to 
decline drugs offered  by their peers.

"Testing provides a nonarguable reason to say no," said  Walters, who 
has served as the president's top  anti-drug official since 2001. 
"The testing is another  reason I can say to my friends, when I get 
tempted, 'I  can't because I could be tested.' "

Walters was in Indianapolis to present the keynote  address at the 
summit, attended by more than 100 state  and local educators.

He said about 1,000 U.S. school districts have random  drug testing 
policies. About 500 of those programs,  including two in Indiana, are 
funded with federal  grants.

The legality of random tests has been upheld by the  Indiana and U.S. 
Supreme courts as long as the tests  are not punitive.

Walters said the Bush administration has expanded its  2009 funding 
request for random student drug testing  programs to $12 million, up 
from $10.8 million in 2008.

The biggest obstacle to starting drug-testing programs  is overcoming 
the denial among parents, school  officials and students, Walters 
said. While student use  of illegal drugs has declined by 24 percent 
since 2001,  Walters said national research shows more than half of 
high school students have used an illegal drug.

"We have to find a way to help people face what they  don't want to 
face," he said.

Walters said research shows that random testing works.

A 2003 survey by Joseph R. McKinney, a professor at  Ball State 
University and Indiana University School of  Law-Indianapolis, 
determined that "random drug testing  policies are effective in 
reducing the temptation to  use drugs and alcohol."

Brownsburg Schools began drug testing about 10 years  ago and 
received a three-year, $103,000 federal grant  in 2005 to expand its 
program. The other Indiana grant  recipient was a school district in 
Fort Wayne; it  received $161,000 in 2005.

Maureen Belch, director of student assistance for the  Hendricks 
County school corporation, said Brownsburg  tests students in Grades 
6-12 who are involved in  sports or other extracurricular activities, 
those who  drive to school and students whose parents request that 
they be involved in the testing program. About 3,500  students are 
eligible for the testing program, she  said, and about half of them 
are actually tested.

"The number of positives have gone down tremendously  since we 
started," said Belch, who talked about the  Brownsburg program with 
those attending the summit.

In the early years of the program, Belch said, about 5  percent to 8 
percent of those tested were positive for  one of the 10 drugs the 
tests can identify -- most  often marijuana. Since the testing 
program was expanded  under the federal grant, she said, the positive 
rate has fallen to 1 percent to 2 percent.

"The sense is that this is a big deterrent to student  drug abuse," she said.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom