THE PROS AND CONS OF TESTING HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS

BUCYRUS -- The U.S. Supreme Court said in its ruling on a case from
Vernonia, Oregon, that testing student athletes for drug use violates
neither the U.S. Constitution, nor more specifically the Fourth
Amendment's prohibition of random or suspicionless searches.

High school junior Tyler Carter isn't a Constitutional attorney, but
he agrees.

He plays football, basketball and baseball for Bucyrus High School,
which has screened all students in extra-curricular activities for
three years.

"I don't think it's unfair," Carter said. "I just think it's the right
thing, and I think everyone should start doing it."

The Washington Supreme Court has told its school districts not so
fast. In a decision last month, it ruled that random drug testing of
student athletes is not allowed under its state constitution.

And the debate goes on, not just whether drug testing is
constitutional or ethical, but if it even works. Bucyrus athletics
director Tom Jeffrey is a recent convert.

"I would say yes," Jeffrey said, now in his second year after
following David Sheldon who helped bring drug testing to Bucyrus.
"Kids are faced more and more with this every day."

That may be. But opponents say drug testing kids isn't they way to keep them
away from drugs. A report published by the American Civil Liberties Union,
"Making Sense of Drug Testing: Why Educators Are Saying No," claims properly
trained teachers and coaches can more effectively identify at-risk students
than random testing.

The ACLU report also notes as with any other test, students will find
a way to cheat. Some of the hottest Web site searches among high
school students are for ways to avoid a positive test result.

"When people talk about drug testing, they think it automatically
solves everything," said Travis Moyer, athletics director at Wynford,
where research has begun on the topic. "Sometimes it opens the door
for other problems."

The crib sheet for a drug test might be adding something to a urine
sample. And there is even a way to copy off your neighbor, or to sneak
in the right answers on the day of a test.

"There are some kids that talk about carrying urine with them," Carter
said. "They know it (random testing) is usually every two weeks, so
they have time to be clear."

Sheldon acknowledges there were lessons learned when the program began
at Bucyrus.

"The first year we had to deal with some of that (cheating) at
Bucyrus," Sheldon said. "Scientifically, you can take care of that."

Carter said that in his opinion, marijuana is the drug of choice among
teens. Those who question testing offer the argument that students
turn to binge drinking or other drugs that aren't so easily detected.
That in itself is a strong indication of problem use and addiction.

There are also concerns about false positives and students being made
to feel guilty until proven innocent. But one of the biggest
objections to testing is that students will not go out for sports to
avoid drug testing.

And if extra-curricular involvement itself is a deterrent, doesn't
drug testing defeat that purpose?

"I don't believe that. I've not seen that in the two years I've been
here," Jeffrey said. "We may have actually picked up our overall numbers."

Carter agrees that doesn't appear to be a serious problem at
Bucyrus.

"There aren't a lot," Carter said, about students who won't come out
for sports at his school because of that. "Just a small number maybe."

Instead, proponents argue, it give their students another way to
handle peer pressure with the reasoning they may be getting tested
without warning.

"I've had multiple kids come and say, 'Mr. Sheldon, now I have a way
to say no,' " Sheldon said.