PUBLIC SCHOOLS MAY BEGIN RANDOM DRUG TESTING

Random Screenings Could Start In August

Mobile County Public School Superintendent Roy Nichols said Thursday
that he's moving forward with a plan to randomly test certain
students for drugs as early as August.

"It looks like we probably will begin student drug testing next
(school) year," he told the Press Club of Mobile during a lunch
meeting Thursday, during which he also discussed his first 90 days
in office. "The main reason is as a deterrent, to give the students
a reason with their peers not to experiment with drugs."

The topic came up on Tuesday, Nichols said, after a meeting where 20
students were expelled from Mobile schools. "More than half were for
drug-related charges," he said.

Drugs also played a role in most of the other expulsions, he was told.

By Thursday morning, Nichols had met with a committee that included
representatives from Baldwin County schools and McGill-Toolen
Catholic High School to talk about the logistics of implementing a
drug-testing plan. Students at McGill and in Baldwin County schools
are already tested for drugs.

Nichols asked the committee to make a recommendation for a
drug-testing program by May 15, adding that he plans to bring the
matter to a vote of the school board later in May.

While Baldwin County public schools randomly test certain students
for drugs, not everyone is included because of student privacy
issues. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that only public school
students who take part in extracurricular activities can be tested for drugs.

The Baldwin system established its testing program in 2006 at Gulf
Shores High and Gulf Shores Middle schools, after a survey revealed
that seventh-through 12th-graders were using drugs at higher rates
than state and national averages. The Baldwin program now includes
schools for seventh-through 12th-graders.

Nichols said he would recommend adopting a similar plan for Mobile
County's public high schools. He said he expects the testing to cost
about $100,000 a year, adding that a local foundation has said it
could cover the costs. The superintendent did not identify the organization.

Mobile United, a local community leadership group, has pushed for
drug testing in Mobile County public schools for at least a decade,
according to Executive Director Sandi Forbus. Her group, however, is
not the one mentioned by Nichols, she said.

"We couldn't be more pleased," she said of the news that drug
testing may soon begin. "Aside from the danger to all of our kids,
drugs are affecting our job market. It has wide-ranging
implications. The only way we have to stop drug use is through
random drug testing."

The results of a Press-Register/University of South Alabama poll
taken last year suggested that 90 percent of Mobile County residents
support drug testing in public schools.

Besides McGill-Toolen, several other private schools in south
Alabama including Faith Academy, St. Paul's Episcopal School,
Cottage Hill Academy and Bayside Academy have been drug testing
students for several years.

Mary G. Montgomery High School in Semmes took part in a pilot
program in 2004 by testing its baseball players for drug use. That
program was funded by the Mobile County Sheriff's Office. The
school's principal said last year that no players ever tested
positive and that the testing ended when the money ran out.