EAGLE-VAIL: STUDENTS MAY BE DRUG TESTED

Testing Will Give Kids a 'Reason' To Say No to Drugs, Resist Peer
Pressure, Educators Say

EAGLE-VAIL, Colorado -- A random drug testing policy could soon be
implemented at Battle Mountain High School that school leaders hope
will deter substance abuse and help students battling addiction find
counseling and treatment.

School leaders say drug and alcohol use is a serious problem at
Battle Mountain and has affected their ability to educate students.
In the past two years, there have been dozens of students sent to the
principal's office and suspended because of drugs and alcohol, and
six students have been expelled.

This spring, two seniors were rejected from the University of
Colorado because of school suspensions related to drug or alcohol
use. These students, who take AP classes and are at the top of their
class, would normally be shoe-ins for CU, Assistant Principal Philip
Qualman said.

Students involved in extra-curricular activities like sports would be
subject to the random drug testing, and with more than 75 percent of
the students at Battle Mountain involved in extra curricular
activities, a testing policy would effect a lot of students, leaders say.

The goal, along with getting help for students who are using drugs,
is really to deter substance abuse all together.

Athletics and competition are very important to many students, and
the possibility of being caught using drugs and letting down the team
gives students a way to battle peer pressure, Principal Brian Hester said.

"We're providing a way for students to say, 'No, I can't do it,'" Hester said.

For students who test positive for drug use, the school will provide
a way to quickly get them help and get them clean. A Student
Assistance Program would be created to assess a student's problem,
provide counseling and find appropriate treatment.

The Student Assistance Program would have a full time director and
would be a resource available to all students -- not just for those
who test positive on the random testing. It would be a place where
students could seek confidential help without fear of punishment,
counselor Jeanne Hennessy said.

When teachers notice emotional problems or signs of drug and alcohol
use with their students, they'll have a good place to send them.
Teachers get to know their students very well, and can often tell
when something's wrong, Hennessy said.

Students worried about their friends would also have a place to find
help, and students who realize on their own that they have a problem
would have a place to go without fear of being punished, Hennessy said.

Confidentiality will be very important, and teachers will be trained
to make sure that students who are referred to the program won't feel
like they're being compromised. The idea is to get them help before
they get into trouble.

"If they were to come to the program and say they were using and they
could potentially be tested and fail, we would give them support and
help them avoid those measures, to avoid punishment and find them
help," Hennessy said.

Students who test positive for drugs or are caught using by school
officials or law enforcement will though face serious consequences,
such as suspension from school and athletics and even expulsion.

The drug testing policy was created by the Battle Mountain High
School Drug Task Force, which was made up of a large group of
educators and community members. The policy was presented to the
Board of Education Wednesday, and could go to a vote at the next meeting.

How it would work:

Every one or two weeks, six males and six females would be randomly
selected by a computer for testing.

The school will purchase kits that can test urine samples at the
school. Positive tests will be sent to a lab to be confirmed. If the
second test is positive, parents or guardians will be informed, a
meeting will be set up with the principal or athletic director, and
the student will be referred to the newly created Student Assistance
Program, which will perform an assessment of the student's substance
abuse, recommend an appropriate course of counseling and find treatment.

Consequences:

For students who test positive, or who are caught using drugs at
school or by law enforcement, there are also strict consequences.

Along with being sent to the Student Assistance Program to find help
and treatment, students who are caught using drugs or alcohol at
school or at school events would suspended from classes for five days
and from sports activites for 20 percent of the season. They'll be
able to return to competition only after a negative drug test.

For the second offense? Recommendation for expulsion. Previously,
students would only face expulsion after their third offense.

Consequences are different for students caught with drugs or alcohol
outside of school, which is reported to the school by law enforcement.

After one offense, students would receive a temporary suspension from
athletics and could return with a negative drug test. Their second
would mean suspension from athletics for a full year, with the
ability to return after six months, given a negative drug test and
community service. A third offense would mean no extra curricular
activities for the duration of their high school career.