WALTON-VERONA DRUG TEST PLAN HAS GAPS

This fall, student-athletes in the Walton-Verona school system may be
screened for alcohol, marijuana and other recreational drugs before
their sport begins. While this appears to be a step forward in
stopping a drug problem before it starts, focusing on such a select
group of students isn't the complete answer. With no reason to suspect
that drug use is higher among athletes than other students, the plan
is discriminatory.

Mark Krummen, the principal of Walton-Verona High School, believes the
tests, which would be paid for by the district, can play a proactive
role by starting with the athletes. The Walton-Verona district has 508
students in grades 7 to 12, of whom 287 play sports. So the tests will
be given to roughly half the students, but the question bubbles
uncontrollably to the surface: Why that half?

If the school board had proposed to test its athletes for
performance-enhancers - drugs that are known to give athletes an
unfair advantage on the field - then targeting the athletes might make
sense. But testing the students for alcohol and marijuana cannot be
justified by their athletic status alone. Students in other
extracurricular activities, or those who participate in none, are just
as capable of substance abuse.

Student-athletes often are among the most driven, disciplined and
healthy kids. Testing them for drugs will not accurately depict the
extent of a school's drug problem, if it even has one.

Walton-Verona's plan, which can still be revised by the school board,
would bar students from sports if they refuse to take the test. That's
counterproductive, deterring kids not from using drugs, but from sports.

Educating students in the classroom should continue to be the course
schools use to make all students aware of the dangers of drugs.
Walton-Verona's policy states, "Every athletic program is required to
have a minimum of one drug education meeting with the student-athletes
per season." That's a great policy. But what about the other students?

The district should rethink the fairness and the effectiveness of this
proposal.