LAWYER CRITICIZES TESTING

TECUMSEH -- The American Civil Liberties Union attorney who represented two
Tecumseh High School students in a lawsuit against the school says the
school's drug-testing policy is "not a story of the Constitution protecting
the students."

"It's a false dichotomy," said Graham Boyd, an ACLU attorney from
Connecticut who represented the Earls family and Daniel James. "Drug
testing is something that does not help the students ... it's
unconstitutional."

James, Lindsay Earls and their families filed a lawsuit in 1998 after
school officials initiated a drug testing policy for students involved in
extracurricular activities.

School districts cannot require students to take drug tests to participate
in extracurricular activities unless a school has a drug-abuse problem, a
divided 10th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 Wednesday.

The ruling overturned a decision last year by a judge in Oklahoma City who
ruled in favor of that type of drug-testing program.

Tecumseh's current testing policy does not protect students, he said.

"Our position is schools should use methods that are effective and protect
the students' rights," Boyd said.

Boyd said he wasn't at all surprised at the outcome of the hearing. The two
judges voting in favor of the students were both "skeptical of the school's
justifications," he told The Oklahoman. "I think the ruling does send a
message that goes beyond just Tecumseh," he said. "Those districts that
have decided to test beyond athletes need to re-evaluate."

But Boyd sees the victory as a way to educate parents, students and school
officials about drug testing.

"It really brings the law in line with what the health professions were
already saying, because this case had support from the pediatricians and
social workers, who all say that drug testing actually makes drug use more
dangerous," he said.

A drug test mainly detects marijuana use and is not capable of detecting
LSD, heroin or cocaine any more than 24 hours after the drugs are initially
in the user's system, Boyd said.

"A school with a drug testing program is actually encouraging students to
experiment with more dangerous drugs," Boyd said.

Another reason he says the tests are not beneficial to students is that
many schools, like Tecumseh, punish students for refusing to take the test
by excluding them from extracurricular activities. The most effective way
to prevent drug use is to get students into extracurricular activities, he
said.

The Tecumseh School Board will meet in special session Thursday . The
school's attorney will talk to the board about whether it should suspend
the policy and appeal the ruling.

Linda Meoli, the school's attorney, was unavailable for comment.