DISTRICT LATEST TO SIGN ON FOR RANDOM SCREENING POLICY PROVISIONS

Students Involved In Extracurricular Activities In Pearl Will Be Tested For
Drugs Beginning In August.

Pearl Public School District is the latest in the metro area to adopt a
drug-testing policy for students who participate in extracurricular activities.

Students in grades seven through 12 who participate in sports,
cheerleading, dance or band will be subject to random drug and alcohol
screenings, beginning in August, Superintendent Stan Miller said Tuesday.

"We feel we need to do everything we can to curtail drug use among our
teens," Miller said. "This gives the students another way to say 'No' to
drugs."

Pearl, which has about 1,600 students in seventh through 12th grades at its
junior high and high school, looked at similar policies in the Tupelo,
McComb and Madison school districts for guidance, Miller said.

The Pearl School Board's decision comes as Rankin County Court Judge Thomas
Broome plans to start the Rankin County youth drug court in late fall or
early December. Broome said he was motivated by the number of juveniles
appearing before him in 2004 on alcohol- and drug-related charges.

The school district's new policy states drug use among Pearl's students is
small but gives two main reasons for testing extracurricular students:

Health risks of drug use are compounded by the physical exertion of
athletic activity.

Students who participate in activities are leaders in the school community,
giving "them the power to influence other students' behavior."

Miller said about 10 percent of students on sports, cheerleading or dance
teams or in the band will be tested. About 20 to 25 students will be tested
each month.

Students will be selected randomly by the clinic the district will hire to
administer the tests. The district will not know who has been chosen until
about an hour before the test, Miller said.

Miller said the policy will cost the district about $5,000. He said cost
restraints prevented the district from testing more students. Miller said
the district hopes to secure some federal funding for the program through
the Office of Safe and Drug-free Schools.

The district might expand the pool of students as more funding becomes
available, Miller said.

Jeff Wade, whose son runs cross country and track for Pearl High, said he
is supportive of the policy.

"If anything, the policy is too lenient," Wade said.

Nsombi Lambright, director of the American Civil Liberties Union, said her
organization has opposed school drug testing policies in court but has been
unsuccessful.

She said while her organization believes all such policies compromise
students' privacy rights, it focuses on opposing policies that subject all
students to random drug screenings.

Miller said the district has been working on the policy for about a year
and met with athletic booster clubs and service organizations to seek
input. He said the reaction to the plan was overwhelmingly positive.

Officials in Tupelo, too, have gotten some positive feedback. Assistant
Superintendent Jimmy Williams said the district's policy has been in effect
since 1988.

Williams, who has been with the district for five years, said all of the
district's athletes are given an initial drug test before participating in
sports. After that, students who test positive are subject to follow-up tests.

The Tupelo School District tested about 600 student-athletes in its initial
round of drug testing last year, Williams said.

All of the district's roughly 3,200 students in grades seven through 12 are
subject to drug screenings when the district believes it has "reasonable
suspicion."

If a district employee directly observes drug use by a student or notices
signs of erratic behavior that might suggest drug use, that student could
be subject to a drug test.

The district has used "reasonable suspicion" to test three students this
year, Williams said. Last year, Williams said, the district screened five
students, one of whom tested positive.

"It's a very effective policy," Williams said. "I've seen the number of
kids who test positive decrease each year since I've been here."

The Rankin County School District could be next to test. The district is
considering a proposal similar to the one the Pearl School Board adopted on
Monday, said Marisa Oliveri, a spokeswoman for the district.

How the drug-testing policy for students in grades seven through 12 who
participate in extracurricular activities works:

Students who test positive will be required to go to drug and alcohol
counseling, at the family's expense, in order to continue participating in
the extracurricular activity.

After an initial positive test, the district can call the student back at
any time within six months for another test.

A second positive test will carry a 30-day suspension from the activity,
and the student will be required to receive counseling to return to the
activity. A third positive test will result in a one-year suspension from
the activity.