MANDATORY DRUG TESTING IN TEXAS IS OVERTURNED

LUBBOCK, Tex., March 1 (AP) -- A mandatory drug testing policy violates the
rights of a seventh-grade boy who challenged the policy last year, a
federal judge ruled today.

The judge, Sam R. Cummings of Federal District Court, said that he
understood the motives of the Lockney Independent School District but that
its mandatory, "suspicionless drug testing" violated the Fourth Amendment.

The boy, Brady Tannahill, was the only holdout when the district
implemented its drug testing policy in February 2000. Brady, then 12, was
suspended from extracurricular activities for 21 days and given substance
abuse counseling.

Graham Boyd, a lawyer with the American Civil Liberties Union who
represents Brady, said the judge's ruling should send a message that "a
school cannot treat its student as if they are guilty until proven innocent."

Donald Henslee, a lawyer for the school district, said he would recommend
an appeal.