TULIA ISD BOARD SEEKS RULING ON DRUG-TESTING

TULIA - The Tulia Independent School District board voted Tuesday night to
file a petition to force U.S. District Judge Mary Lou Robinson to rule on a
lawsuit challenging the district's extracurricular drug-testing program.

Superintendent Mike Vinyard said he would contact the district's attorney
in Houston to file the petition. Vinyard said he was not sure when the
court would rule on the petition.

In September, the board discussed filing a writ of mandamus with the 5th
U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which would require Robinson to issue a
ruling. Robinson heard arguments for the case in August 1999.

Hollister Gardner, 20, and his cousin, Molly Gardner, 16, filed the suit in
January 1997 to protest the Tulia Independent School District's "mandatory,
suspicion-less" drug-testing policy. Under the program, anyone in junior
high or high school desiring to participate in extracurricular activities
must submit to random drug testing.

The central question in the case is whether the public goal of eradicating
drugs overwhelms privacy issues and constitutional protections against
illegal searches, according to documents filed in the case.