STUDENT DRUG TESTING FOCUS OF S.D. SUMMIT

Critics Say Random Tests Are Invasive, Ineffective

White House officials are in San Diego today to promote new
high-stakes testing in the nation's schools. Although these test
scores won't gauge anything academic, the results could affect
students who want to join everything from the basketball team to the band.

Included in President Bush's proposed 2007 budget released this month
is $15 million set aside for random student drug testing, similar to
screening recently started in two local districts. Schools that
accept the federal funds would make unannounced toxicology screenings
a condition for participation in a range of clubs and teams.

Government officials said the confidential tests are not designed to
catch and punish teen drug users, rather they are meant to serve as a
tool to help prevent drug use and identify those who need help
battling a potential lifetime of addiction.

Critics say the program is costly, ineffective and invasive. Some
worry the drug tests could deter students from joining the
extracurricular activities they need to stay interested in school.

Today, officials from the Office of National Drug Control Policy are
scheduled to hold a summit on the program for educators and parents.
It is the second stop in a national tour to encourage schools to
apply for federal grants that would administer drug tests to students
who participate in competitive extracurricular programs, such as
choir, Future Farmers of America and the football team.

The impetus for the program was a U.S. Supreme Court decision in 2002
upholding an Oklahoma school district's policy that called for random
drug testing of students who participate in a range of
extracurricular activities. The court ruled 5-4 that widespread drug
testing beyond members of school athletic teams does not violate
the Fourth Amendment's prohibition against unreasonable searches.

Shortly after the ruling, the Bush administration's drug czar issued
a document for public schools that touts the benefits of drug testing
and largely dismisses critics' concerns that the screenings would
chip away at students' civil liberties.

David Murray, special assistant to John P. Walters, director of the
Office of National Drug Control Policy, likened the drug screenings
to routine and long-standing school programs to detect lice or test
for tuberculosis.

We have a public health threat and this is a deterrent, it's also an
intervention mechanism, Murray said. We are looking for early warning
signs of a problem. We are not doing this or offering it with the
intent that there would be any action taken against the students not
expulsion.

The test results would remain confidential upon graduation and would
not be sent to law enforcement authorities. By contrast, drugs and
other contraband sniffed out by specially trained canines already
brought on some campuses can result in severe disciplinary measures,
including expulsion.

The $15 million allocated for drug-testing represents a fraction of
the funds the federal government devotes to overall drug-education
and intervention programs. Critics believe the newest program is
politically motivated, citing a recent decline in teenage drug use
coupled with an abundance of anti-drug programs that address the problem.

More and more schools and districts across the country have adopted
drug-testing programs since the high court ruling. The federal
program is deliberately vague, leaving the details of how the policy
is implemented to local districts.

Just last week, the Vista Unified School District authorized random
drug testing for more than 3,200 students involved in extracurricular
activities. The program is funded with a $211,000 federal grant.

The first and second time Vista students test positive for drugs,
they will be referred to counseling at their family's expense. A
third failure would result in suspension from the extracurricular
activity for the rest of the school year.

Late last year, the Oceanside Unified School District implemented a
similar program paid for with a $180,000 federal grant. The urine
tests are designed to detect the presence of marijuana, heroin,
cocaine, amphetamines, steroids and alcohol.

Research on the success or failure of such programs has been limited.
Government officials and critics alike point to a handful of studies
and success stories offered by individual districts.

But the Bush administration overlooks potential problems with drug
testing, said Margaret Dooley, outreach coordinator for the Drug
Policy Alliance, a nonprofit organization that advocates drug policy reforms.

These programs are invasive and do nothing to build trust between
students and school (administrators), said Dooley, who recommends
drug-counseling and prevention programs instead of testing. What we
are doing is teaching our students what it's like to live in a police state.

The American Academy of Pediatrics, the National Education
Association and the ACLU all oppose drug testing as a condition to
participate in activities.

Drug-testing programs should be studied for both positive and
negative impacts before the government advocates them, said Howard
Taras, professor of pediatrics at UC San Diego.

There may be some good that comes from testing, it may deter kids
from getting heavily into drugs, said Taras, a physician and chief
medical adviser to the San Diego Unified District. There could also
be some potential bad. It may deter kids who dabble in drugs from
getting involved in activities they really need. Students who test
positive may even get abused at home. It may make a bad situation at
home worse.

More than 125 people have registered to participate in today's summit
at the Hilton San Diego Mission Valley.

Among them will be a representative from San Diego Unified. But so
far there are no plans to implement such a program in the state's
second-largest district, Superintendent Carl Cohn said.

Whenever we are talking about student safety, we want to explore
every avenue. But this is the type of program you would want to look
at in the context of parents, teachers and school principals and
students discussing it, Cohn said. I don't see a districtwide policy.
What I could see is a pilot at an interested school where we would
watch for results.

San Diego County has become something of a flash point in the
nation's decades-old war on drugs.

In December, federal agents raided the 13 medical marijuana
dispensaries legally operating in the county under state law, seizing
not just marijuana but patient records. The sweep angered activists,
especially since no arrests were made and no criminal charges have been filed.

Last month, after a 3-2 vote by the Board of Supervisors, the county
sued the state over a law requiring counties to issue identification
cards to qualified medical marijuana patients.

That decision was hailed by the White House Office of National Drug
Control Policy, the same agency sponsoring the drug-testing seminar
scheduled today.