MORE STUDENTS FACING DRUG TESTING

Student athletes, cheerleaders and musicians who participate in
after-school activities have increasingly been subject to random drug testing.

Paradise Valley public school officials began testing students more
than a decade ago and spend about $33,000 a year to test students in
five high schools.

The 1,300-student Queen Creek High School began three years ago, and
so far, no student has tested positive for illegal drugs or alcohol.

The Chandler Unified School District started in February randomly
testing high school students involved in activities governed by the
Arizona Interscholastic Association, which includes band and cheerleading.

School officials say drug testing is an effective way to keep
students away from illegal substances such as marijuana and cocaine.

And the threat of a drug test helps students resist peer pressure,
said Tot Workman, Queen Creek athletic director.

"This (drug testing) provides them an opportunity to say no," he said.

Paradise Valley parents have several options. They can request a
voucher from the district and then take their child to a lab to be
tested for free, or they can pick up a free home drug-test kit, part
of a national initiative from the Phoenix non-profit group Not My Kid.

"We started at least 10 years ago . . . and the feeling was there was
substance-abuse problems," said Paradise Valley student services
director Jim Lee, who estimated three to five students tested
positive last school year.

The Chandler district received a three-year grant of $780,000 for
random testing from the U.S. Department of Education. The district
expects to test up to 25 percent of eligible students at three high
schools, a pool estimated at 3,400.

Students and parents must sign a consent form once students sign up
for an extracurricular activity.

"By and large, parents have supported it," said Regina Wainwright,
Chandler's testing coordinator.

The Supreme Court ruled in 1995 that schools could randomly test
student athletes who are not suspected of drug use and in 2002 ruled
that all students who participate in voluntary activities, such as
cheerleading or band, could be subjected to random tests.

If students test positive, it neither affects their academic standing
nor is it reported to law enforcement.

For a first offense at Paradise Valley, the student loses eligibility
for 18 weeks or six weeks with counseling.

"We're trying to use it as an intervention," Lee said.