N. BALTIMORE STUDENTS TOLD TO TAKE DRUG TESTS

NORTH BALTIMORE - Students at North Baltimore High School who work hard
enough to be named to the National Honor Society or sing well enough to
land a part in the spring musical must face the same hurdle as athletes at
other schools: a drug test.

Last fall, the school board adopted a drug and alcohol testing policy that
made urinalysis tests mandatory for every student involved in
extracurricular activities in grades 7-12, bar none.

"We felt that rather than just testing athletes, we wanted to show the kids
in the community that we feel all extracurriculars are important,"
Superintendent Rick Van Mooy said. "The purpose is not to catch kids, but
to help them."

The small, 900-student school district in southern Wood County may be the
only one in the region to require drug tests for nonathletes. At least two
circuit court decisions have upheld a school district's right to conduct
such testing, though neither of the cases originated in Ohio.

In 1998, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals found it was legal for a
public high school in Indiana to require students who participate in any
extracurricular activity as well as those who drive to school to consent to
random urinalysis tests. The court said both were privileges, and the
school district had the right to impose reasonable conditions for such
privileges.

The decision relied heavily on the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in a case
originating in Vernonia, Ore. There, a seventh-grader who wanted to play
football refused to sign the consent form to be tested for drugs. He sued,
and the case eventually made its way to the Supreme Court, which upheld the
school's mandatory drug-testing program for athletes.

Rick Dickinson, general counsel for the Ohio School Boards Association,
said he was unaware of specific districts in Ohio that test nonathletes,
but he said recent court rulings support the concept.

"Part of the theory for that is that a different standard applies for
extracurricular activities than the mandatory school program because
extracurriculars don't have to be offered and students don't have to
participate in them," Mr. Dickinson said. "Extracurriculars are a
privilege, not a right so school districts can set up whatever reasonable
standards they want."

The American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio does not agree.

"Our position is that it is an impermissible violation of the students'
right to privacy," said Ray Vasvari, legal director of the American Civil
Liberties Union of Ohio.

"We know the Supreme Court has upheld the random drug testing of student
athletes in the Vernonia case, but it is our position that Vernonia was
decided largely on facts that were unique to that athletic program and its
culture and more generally to athletics."

Mr. Vasvari said he does not believe every federal court would interpret
the Vernonia decision to include participation in all extracurricular
activities.

North Baltimore senior Rachel Bryar said she did not mind submitting to a
drug test but it did seem excessive that nonathletes like herself had to be
tested three times during the school year. The 17-year-old is a member of
student council, the Spanish Club, and the National Honor Society.

"I felt that maybe since I wasn't playing a sport, they could've just done
it in the fall," she said.

Rachel said she saw the drug test as preparation for the future: drug tests
are required to enter the military and in many cases, to get a job.

"I knew I didn't do anything wrong so I didn't feel incriminated against,"
she said. "Some of the kids didn't think it was right, but it just gave
them something to complain about."

Senior Nate Rice, a football and basketball player at North Baltimore, said
some of his teammates were "disappointed, mad. They didn't want to take it.
They felt it was an invasion of their privacy." Specifically, some felt
that if they were 18, they had a legal right to smoke cigarettes.

"I really didn't mind because I didn't have anything to hide," Nate said.

Most students don't.

During the first year of the policy, North Baltimore tested 454 students
either at the start of the three athletic seasons or randomly during the
winter and spring seasons. Of those, 21 students tested positive for
tobacco use, just two for marijuana. Results from the random tests done
this spring are not yet back.

Under the policy, students who test positive and their parents are required
to meet with the high school principal then be professionally assessed and
possibly referred to a treatment program. Because cigarette smoking is the
most common problem, the school now offers after-school smoking cessation
classes.

Mr. Van Mooy said he's pleased that of the 23 students who tested positive,
16 turned themselves in before they took the test. Under the school's
policy, students who refer themselves for an assessment program before the
test and then test positive do not have to sit out any of the season. Those
who test positive without coming forward first automatically miss 20 per
cent of that season.

"We don't want to be punitive," Mr. Van Mooy said. "We want our kids not to
use."

He said it's a promising sign that none of the students who tested positive
in one season were positive in subsequent seasons.

"I think that has to count for something," he said. "I'd love 100 per cent
negative tests of course, but really I think these percentages are a great
place to start and I hope we can do better."

North Baltimore school officials say it was not a rampant drug problem that
prompted the policy. Rather, the district's athletic council suggested the
school board take a look at instituting a drug testing policy for athletes
because coaches from other districts suggested it was good for kids, Mr.
Van Mooy said.

As his research and the board's discussions on the matter progressed, a
board member suggested the policy be written to include all extracurricular
activ-ities. On the advice of the board's attorney, Timothy Brown of
Perrysburg, it moved forward with the unusual policy.

While some residents were angered by the policy, none took issue with the
idea of testing nonathletes, Mr. Van Mooy said. Some even asked why the
district didn't test all students.

"Legally, you cannot test all kids just based on the fact that they show up
for school everyday because children have a right to an education and
making passage of a drug test requisite to getting an education is against
the law," Mr. Van Mooy said. "Because extracurriculars are just that -
extra - a school can put additional requirements on them."

Most area school districts have seen drug testing as simply an issue for
athletes, whose performance and safety on the playing field could be
altered by drug use.

In the fall of 1997, another Wood County school district, Lake Local,
became the first in northwest Ohio to implement drug testing for athletes
and cheerleaders. Since then, a number of others in the area have adopted
similar policies, but again only for students involved in sports.

Lake Athletic Director Dave Shaffer said the district never discussed
conducting drug tests for all extracurricular activities.

Oregon City Schools, which is in its second year of testing athletes for
drug use, did not consider testing other students but a school official
said it's something it might consider in the future.

"It's been mentioned to us: 'Why are you picking on athletes? Why are you
just doing athletes?' " said Loren Dirr, assistant principal at Clay High
School.

He said part of the impetus behind establishing the drug policy was to
dispel the idea that athletes are treated less harshly if they are caught
drinking or smoking.

Mr. Dirr said testing students involved in nonathletic activities might be
more fair, but it would be a huge expense in a high school the size of
Clay, which has about 1,200 students.

Even for small districts, testing is expensive. North Baltimore already has
spent more than $10,300 this school year. The board has picked up the bill.

Mr. Van Mooy said the school board might consider making some changes in
its policy over the summer. The district could curtail testing or hold only
random testing. It could charge students for the tests as schools like Lake
and Clay do.

The school board plans to hold a public meeting this summer where residents
can voice their opinions on the issue.