MILFORD HS TO DRUG-TEST

Students in Activities, Drivers Subject to Random Checks

MILFORD - When Milford High School resumes classes Aug. 28, more than
half of the 1,900 students will be subject to random drug tests.

The Milford School Board on Thursday approved a policy that requires
students participating in any co-curricular (band/chorus) or
extracurricular (sports, groups) activities and students who apply
for a parking permit to be subject to random drug testing.

No parents or students spoke about the policy at the board meeting.

Board President Carol Ball said the "Just say 'No'" public-service
messages of the past are not enough today, when young people are
increasingly pressured by others to use or buy drugs.

"We want to give our children another reason to say 'no' that their
peers will understand," she said.

Students eligible for testing will be assigned numbers. A computer
will randomly select numbers, and those students will be required to
provide a urine sample.

If students test positive, they will be removed from the activity
they are currently participating in for the rest of the season, or
their parking permit will be revoked for the remainder of the season.
Permits are sold seasonally - fall, winter and spring.

Students would not be suspended or expelled, nor would they be turned
over to the police.

"The purpose of this policy is to strengthen the district's
zero-tolerance stance on drugs," Superintendent John Frye said. "It
also provides students with a strong reason to say no. It is not our
intention to catch kids who test positive for drugs, but rather
prevent students from using drugs in the first place."

Board members said implementing the policy doesn't mean that Milford
has a larger drug problem than any other schools. But board member
Dave Yockey said, "To ignore the fact or to say we don't have a
problem would be sticking our heads in the sand."

Milford School District spent $60,000 in the 2004-05 school year for
an undercover private investigator to pose as a student and make drug
buys from high school students. Sixteen students were arrested at a
drug bust in April 2005.

Some Ohio districts currently do drug testing, but Milford's new
random drug-testing policy might be the toughest in the state, Scott
Ebright, spokesman for the Ohio School Boards Association, said.

Random drug testing for students who participate in extracurricular
activities has been upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court and is legal,
said Jeff Gamso, legal director for the American Civil Liberties
Union of Ohio. The idea is that participating in those activities is
a privilege, not a right.

But, he said, drug-testing students with parking permits is on
questionable legal ground.

Gamso said there's no evidence that drug tests deter drug use. "What
you're doing is pumping money into a program that may or may not
accomplish a thing." Milford will pay for testing with Drug Free
School federal grant money.

What's more, Gamso said, drug testing sends a message to students
that the school doesn't trust them: "It's a bad use of resources.
It's bad for the kids. It's bad for the school district. The parents
should be outraged."

Deanna Eppers, who has a daughter in high school, thinks the timing
of the policy is bad and will foster community distrust of the school
board and superintendent.

"Go ahead and test my daughter. I don't think it's a good move right
now. I think many people will be offended. This may affect the levy."
Milford is considering a levy and bond issue for November.

Her daughter, Stephanie, 17, will be a junior and is in chorus.

"It won't be a problem with me, because I don't do that kind of
thing," Stephanie said. However, she added that she's concerned a
random drug-testing policy would discourage drug users from
participating in activities that might do them some good or even stop
them from using drugs.

Casey Larrison, a 17-year-old senior, will be driving to school this
year and be subject to random drug testing. "I don't have anything to
hide. If they want to test me, fine. They're not going to find anything."

His father, John Larrison, a district school bus driver, has two
other children, one at the high school and one at the junior high.

"I think it's great," John Larrison said of the new policy. "We came
from Chicago where the drug problem is terrible compared to here.
It's great to see the school board taking some action and making it
safer for my kids to go to school."

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MILFORD'S RANDOM DRUG-TESTING POLICY

The policy requires Milford High School students participating in any
co-curricular or extracurricular activities and students who apply
for a parking permit to be subject to random drug testing.

Parents and students must sign a form consenting to the drug testing
at the beginning of the school year. If the form is not signed, the
student will not be permitted to participate in their respective
activity or to park on the high school campus.

Random drug testing of student athletes may be conducted throughout
the school year. Drug testing will be administered before specific
sport seasons begin, when driving permits are issued three times a
year and at activity changes for co-curricular activities, such as
marching band or concert band. A student may also be tested if the
program director, athletic director, building principal or the
superintendent has reasonable suspicion of a violation.

Administrators at Milford High School will assign numbers to students
who are involved in any of the described activities. A computer will
randomly select numbers, up to 10 percent of the pool of participants
during each week of the school year, and then require those students
to produce a urine sample for testing. The student must provide
details of any prescription medications. This information is sent
directly to the testing laboratory to protect the student's privacy.

If a student's drug test indicates a positive result, the lab will
conduct a second test of the same sample. If the second test is
positive, the student will be subject to the appropriate consequences
as defined in the Student Handbook and specific activity code of conduct.

For example, a student athlete would be suspended from the team for
the rest of the season. If it is a student driver using a parking
permit, that permit would be forfeited for that season. The student
would not be subject to suspension or expulsion from school in the
event of a positive test result, and the district would not report
results to any law-enforcement authorities.

If the student refuses to submit to a drug test, that student loses
eligibility to participate in the activity for the remainder of the
season or loses the parking permit for the remainder of that season.

Source: Milford School District