'A WAY OUT:' DRUG TESTING OF STUDENTS GROWING

IT'S been a decade since the Tecumseh school board decided to
randomly drug test students involved in extracurricular activities.
That 1998 decision kicked off a protracted legal battle that ended
with a 2002 U.S. Supreme Court decision in the district's favor.

Until the high court's ruling, schools that required testing did so
almost exclusively for athletes. Tecumseh officials surely had no
idea their policy decision would end up a matter of national debate.
Ten years later, many schools have drug testing programs that go
beyond athletes. The U.S. Department of Education even offers grant
money to help school districts finance drug testing programs.

Federal officials recently announced that the Harrah and Tahlequah
school districts will receive $78,330 and $150,000, respectively, for
drug testing. Nationwide, the education department's Office and Safe
and Drug-Free Schools awarded $5.8 million in grants.

The grant will allow Harrah's school district to move from testing
only students under suspicion of being under the influence to a
random program involving all students in extracurricular activities.

"We're like a lot of the other communities," Superintendent Dean
Hughes recently told The Oklahoman. "We know what's out there. We
just want to make sure our students are safe because many times they
don't understand the problems that come with using illegal drugs and alcohol."

While drug testing has grown in popularity, we're among those who
believe the decision to do so is best made at the local level with
plenty of input from the community, including parents and students.

Yukon school officials did just that before deciding in 2004 on
random drug testing to complement beefed-up drug and alcohol
awareness programs and other prevention efforts. The decision was
emotional. Earlier in the year, a high school freshman had died of a
drug overdose and another student had a drug-related collapse and
ended up in the hospital.

This month, Yukon administrators reported that of 1,341 drug and
alcohol tests administered last school year, only 15 students tested
positive compared with double that the prior year. The results
improved even though the district added Breathalyzer tests to its
arsenal and tested dozens of students during prom. None of those
students tested failed the test, officials said.

"We think our drug testing policy has been a deterrent," assistant
superintendent Kent Mathers told The Oklahoman's Jesse Olivarez. "I
think it gives a kid an excuse (to say no), especially a kid involved
in school competitions an excuse ... so they have a way out."

Of course, testing is only one way for communities to tackle drug use
and underage drinking. But tragedies like those in Yukon are
reminders that parents and schools sometimes need all the help they can get.