BOARD MULLS DRUG TESTING 'WHAT IFS'

Role Of Parents In Testing Debated

LINCOLN CITY -- Details and "what-if" scenarios dominated Monday's North
Spencer School Corp. discussion of a proposal to randomly test middle and
high school students for drugs.

The board plans to vote on the plan April 3. During Monday night's meeting,
which was continuing at 9 p.m., it wasn't obvious which direction the
seven-member board would go. Several seemed sympathetic to the idea of
testing but uncomfortable with some of the fine print.

"It may be necessary," board member Jim Buckles said of the plan, "but I
like the words compassionate and considerate."

That comment was made during a discussion of whether a student's parents
should be called in the event the student is drawn for random testing.

Some wondered if that would be appropriate, especially in the case of
middle-school students, who might become afraid or apprehensive at the
notion of taking the urine test.

"We're talking about seventh- and eighth-graders," board member Pam
Thompson said. "We're dealing with children."

But Superintendent Ron Etienne cautioned the board that putting in a
requirement that parents be called might subject the school corporation to
lawsuits if a parent couldn't be reached and the child was tested anyway.

Questions were raised about class time students would have to miss when
called for drug testing. If a student was unable to produce a specimen
right away, they could miss valuable lecture time, some parents opposed to
the policy suggested.

Some said they didn't want students called out of class in the middle of a
period. Heritage Hills Junior-Senior High School Principal Al Logsdon said
the front office likely would wait until the end of class periods to summon
students.

If the board passes the proposal, Logsdon said he and his staff would speak
to other schools that already have drug testing and seek input on the best
ways to handle the policy.

"We don't want to try to create the wheel," he said.

The proposal would apply to middle and high school students in
extracurricular clubs or sports and high schoolers who drive to school.
Board members talked about requiring counseling of students who test positive.

As the proposal is now written, the parents of students who test positive
would be contacted and would be given lists of agencies that might be of
help to the student. The student would also receive penalties related to
their driving privilege and eligibility to take part in clubs and sports.

Requiring counseling for any student testing positive would be consistent
with the policy's main goal, which is to help students, some suggested.

"That's what we're doing this for, to help these kids," Thompson said. But
board Vice President Scot Elliott said that on a first positive test,
counseling shouldn't be a requirement because "you're putting the ball in
parents' court."

Parent Charles Aigner of Dale said he opposes the policy and told the board
that it would be "terribly hard on the children" emotionally.

"You're dealing with youth," parent Ray Niehaus of Santa Claus cautioned
the board.

Board member Mike Sekinger said a person's use of drugs and alcohol often
begins in the junior and middle and high school years, so that's an ideal
time to address the issue. Niehaus responded that doing so should be
parents' responsibility.

Sekinger agreed but said, "that doesn't always happen."

Students subject to testing would be assigned numbers. A testing company
would be responsible for drawing the numbers, then notifying the school of
when they would come to administer the tests.

Still, board member Max Reinke worried that the policy would be an
administrative nightmare for the school corporation.

"We're going to have to hire an administrator just for this program."

The proposed policy requires follow-up tests for students who test
positive. Those tests wouldn't be administered until the substance that was
found in the students' systems had time to dissolve, members said.
Penalties for subsequent positive tests get more severe than the first,
which is a three-week suspension from driving or club activities and 20
percent of an athletic team's season.