FEDERAL OFFICIALS PUSH RANDOM STUDENT DRUG TESTING

Dozier Says It's Not Feasible for Georgetown County

Georgetown County School Superintendent Dr. Randy Dozier said there
are no plans to implement random drug testing among district students
because it would be too costly and time consuming.

Although there has been discussion among district officials and
parents, and even support to begin such a practice, Dozier said, at
this time, drug testing is not feasible.

"It's (drug testing) not as easy as people think," Dozier said. "It's
costly. Our contract with the drug dogs is expensive too. You would
have to choose."

Dozier's statements are in contrast to White House officials' attempt
to encourage South Carolina schools to begin random drug testing among
students. Very few schools in S.C. have a practice of randomly testing
their students for drugs.

Federal officials visited Charleston Wednesday to promote the practice
of drug testing to local educators. Bertha Madras, deputy director of
demand reduction for the White House Office of National Drug Control
Policy, said random student drug testing gives students an excuse to
say "no" when their peers are pressuring them to experiment with drugs.

Drug testing isn't meant to lead to punishment, she said, but to
prevent drug use and identify drug-dependent students who need help.

The federal officials' stop in the Lowcountry attracted drug testing
opponents who, like Dozier, believe the practice is not an effective
or cost-efficient way to prevent drug use among students.

Currently, Georgetown County does conduct random drug tests on the
district's more than 100 bus drivers, but these are the only district
employees who are subject to drug tests, Dozier said. Georgetown
County students have never had to take random drug tests.

Dozier, who has experience working in much larger school districts,
said it takes hours for the randomly chosen bus drivers to complete
their drugs tests and it takes even longer for those test results to
be returned to the district.

In terms of testing students from the district's four high schools,
Dozier said it could take days to complete tests and such testing
would interfere with the flow of the school day.

According to Dozier, the drug testing the district performs on its bus
drivers is very expensive, and the district would have difficulty
affording to run the same tests on a pool of students from all four
high schools.

Nationwide, schools are allowed to randomly test students who either
participate in school athletic programs or in competitive
extracurricular school-sponsored activities.

Dozier said it would be okay to test the district's school athletes
who are covered by the district's athletic insurance policy and who
regularly see team trainers.

Although Georgetown County schools are not hopping on the drug testing
bandwagon, some S.C. schools are looking into it since new federal
grants -- averaging $125,000 each -- have been made available for school
districts to start or continue random student drug testing.

Only one South Carolina public school district, Marion District 1, has
received the federal grant, and they conducted their first tests in
April.

Colleton County schools started random student drug testing this year
with local money, Superintendent Charles Gale said.

To date, no one has tested positive.

Hilton Head Preparatory School, a private school with 450 students,
expanded its drug testing program during the 2003-2004 school year to
include seventh-through 12th-grade students, regardless of whether
they participate in extracurricular activities. Every adult on the
school's campus is also tested.

At least 10 families pulled their children out of Hilton Head
Preparatory School because they didn't agree with the testing, but the
school withstood the (student and tuition) loss because officials
believed it was what was best for students, said Sue Groesbeck, head
of the school.

The Drug Policy Alliance opposes random student drug testing, said
Jennifer Kern, a research associate with the organization.

Kern said money spent on such surveillance programs would be better
spent on educational programs that give students the support and
information they need.

Random drug testing undermines relationships between students and
their teachers and creates more negative attitudes among students
about school, she said.

Bob Brimmer, project director for a grant to reduce alcohol use in
East Cooper middle and high schools, who is also a former substance
abuse counselor, said he didn't think the Charleston County School
District should be involved in random drug testing because it shifts
schools' focus from prevention to policing.

Brimmer explained that schools that conduct drug testing have to
figure out answers to complicated issues such as student
confidentiality and what should happen if a student tests positive.