CBC PAVES WAY FOR STUDENT DRUG TESTS

One of St. Louis' largest, most prestigious Catholic boys schools has
developed a mandatory drug-testing plan for students that could become
the first of its kind in the region.

Leaders at Christian Brothers College High in Town and Country say
they are confident they will get parental support for the program at a
meeting Thursday night. If successful, CBC's testing plan could be the
catalyst for similar efforts at other schools, administrators say.

"I wouldn't be surprised if others pursued it as they learn from what
CBC is doing," said the Rev. Mitchell S. Doyen, the St. Louis
Archdiocese's associate superintendent for Catholic secondary
education. Doyen says he knows of no other Catholic schools that have
such a policy.

Some area schools ask athletes or students with previous drug troubles
to submit to testing, but even many of those programs are voluntary.

Rumors have been echoing through the hallways of CBC for months, since
administrators began seriously discussing the idea with parent groups.
Students say some panicked - insisting they would be expelled, or even
joking that they would shave their heads to avoid the proposed
hair-testing program.

Thursday night, CBC parents will gather at the school and later decide
the fate of the program. If they like the idea - or don't protest too
much - school leaders will enact the policy as soon as next year, they
say.

CBC leaders have been pondering the idea for years, said the school's
principal, Brother David Poos. He said administrators were pushing for
the program this year not because of a particular problem at CBC, but
in order to give his 1,100 students another reason to fight peer
pressure while at parties or other social events.

"It's a deterrent," Poos said. "It's a way for kids to say,
'No.'"

So far, this is the school's plan for testing:

CBC leaders will select students randomly, clip shoelace-width hair
samples, and send them in for testing.

Roughly 15 students will be selected each day starting at the
beginning of the school year. After every student in the school has
been tested, CBC will conduct random tests.

The tests will screen for marijuana, cocaine, PCP, Ecstasy,
methamphetamines and opiates, CBC leaders said.

If a test comes back positive, leaders will meet with the student and
parents. The student will then have 100 days to clean up - a step that
could include mandatory drug counseling.

After the 100 days, the student will be tested again. And if he fails
again, CBC will ask him to withdraw.

The drug test result will not go on his permanent school record, Poos
said.

But if the student does not leave the school on his own,
administrators may expel him, and could even list the drug violation
permanently. In no case will drug test results be turned over to
police, Poos said.

The tests cost roughly $45 each, Poos said. Charges for the first test
will be added to the school's tuition, set at $9,500 for freshmen next
year. Parents will pay about $60 for a second test.

So far, parents have supported the idea, said parent club president
Bob Leonard.

Others have voiced concerns that the two-strike penalty is too severe
for students struggling with drugs, he said. But most think the policy
will help students stay clean.

Both Leonard and administrators have said they would be shocked if the
policy did not get overwhelming support from CBC parents Thursday.

But some students are nervous.

Though administrators insist their teens are cleaner than the general
public - and students agree - these students still say many within
their ranks are experimenting with, or even selling, drugs.

"Everyone was talking about it," said Patrick Holley, 18. "Everyone
was sweating."

Even clean teens were nervous, Holley said.

"You're on the spot," he said. "You're being searched. Your personal
life is being put on display."

Many area public schools perform drug tests on athletes or those
involved in extracurricular activities. This kind of selective testing
has been upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court, said local ACLU legal
director Tony Rothert. For instance, Fort Zumwalt in St. Charles
County and St. Clair School District in Franklin County have such policies.

Area Catholic schools, such as DeSmet Jesuit and St. John Vianney high
schools, have told students caught with drugs that they must submit to
mandatory testing.

Other schools, including Althoff Catholic in Belleville, have
discussed schoolwide testing.

Across the nation, such programs at schools have taken hold - and are
spreading.

The Christian Brothers High School in Memphis began a program six
years ago, and soon at least four others followed suit, said Memphis
principal Brother Chris Englert. New Orleans' De La Salle High was one
of the first to start, and now at least 16 Louisiana schools employ
some kind of testing. St. Patrick High in Chicago is in its second
year of mandatory testing, and Dean Rudy Presslak said he got weekly
information requests from other schools hoping to start similar programs.