PRINCIPAL: DRUG-TESTING STUDENTS WORKS

High school principal Chris Steffner says she's seen many efforts to
keep teens from using drugs: education programs, "Just Say No"
campaigns, scary speeches from people who were caught driving drunk.

"None of those things have any lasting impact," she says. "Peer
pressure is so strong."

That's why, Steffner says, she's a cheerleader for random drug
testing of students. She tells other principals about the testing
program she helped oversee for the past two years at Hackettstown
High School, a 700-student campus in northern New Jersey.

During the program's first year, 10% of Hackettstown's students were
tested randomly from a pool of students who took part in after-school
activities or who drove to school. One student tested positive, she
says. Last year, 25% of the students were screened. No one tested
positive. The results show testing deters teen drug use, Steffner
says: "It works in the workplace and it works in the military. Why
wouldn't it work in a school?" At a time when drug testing is
expanding in schools, precisely how well it works in reducing drug
use among middle and high school students is a much-debated topic.
Surveys by the University of Michigan indicate that teens' use of
most drugs is stable or down slightly this year. Analysts are trying
to find out whether testing might lower the numbers further. TO
REDUCE USE: More schools test for drugs The number of schools
screening students for street drugs such as cocaine and marijuana --
and for performance enhancers such as steroids -- has jumped since
the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2002 that testing athletes and those
involved in competitive extracurricular activities did not violate
their privacy rights.

However, only about 2% of the nation's 28,000 middle and high schools
have testing policies. Meanwhile, drug education programs are
everywhere, and many other factors -- from teens' whims to the
economy -- have been cited as affecting drug use rates.

Little research has been done on testing's impact on student drug use
because it's difficult and expensive to study, says Lloyd Johnston of
the Monitoring the Future study at the University of Michigan, which
surveys 50,000 students a year. And yet, concern about student drug
use -- including recent increases in the use of prescription drugs
and steroids -- has led hundreds of systems to embrace testing.

The Supreme Court said a school system's duty to provide a safe,
drug-free environment outweighs students' expectations of privacy.
Now, Hackettstown and a few other systems -- such as the one in
Hagerstown, Ind. -- are using the court's standard to justify
expanding random testing beyond students who are in sports or other
competitive after-school activities. It's unclear whether such plans
will draw new legal challenges.

The Bush administration has been a key player in expanding student
drug testing. The White House has asked Congress to boost federal
grants for testing programs by 45% next year, to $15 million.

"The administration is pushing this like never before," says Tom
Angell, campaign director for Students for Sensible Drug Policy in
Washington, D.C., which opposes drug testing. Angell, who says he
often hears from parents and students who oppose testing, estimates
one school board a week adopts a testing plan.

Even so, many systems have resisted testing because of its cost and
questions about its necessity. Privacy laws in several states also
pose legal hurdles, despite the Supreme Court's stance on testing.
Bush "elevated it to a level of prominence, so some schools are going
to start doing it," says Graham Boyd of the ACLU's Drug Law Reform
Project. But "most school administrators want programs that work and
don't want to needlessly invade students' privacy."

The ACLU argues that testing destroys trust between students and
schools and discourages teens from joining after-school activities.
The group also questions testing's effectiveness. Research is
inconclusive. In a 2003 study, Johnston and a colleague suggested
drug usage rates at schools with no testing were about the same as
those of schools that had testing. In 2005, a Ball State University
survey found declines in drug use at 58% of 54 Indiana high schools
that had testing.

Such reports have inspired a few systems to expand drug testing to
virtually all students.

The Nettle Creek school district in Hagerstown, Ind., will launch a
program this fall involving most secondary school students: not just
athletes and club members, but also those who drive to school or want
to attend school dances. Superintendent Joe Backmeyer says the goal
is to protect students' privacy and minimize embarrassment. Students
will be chosen randomly by number and a saliva sample will be taken,
instead of the more common urine testing. Counseling will be provided
for those testing positive.