DRUG-TESTING PLAN VIOLATES STUDENT RIGHTS, SOME SAY

PHOENIX - Plans by Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon to expand drug testing in
schools could stall because some parents and educators say it violates
students' civil liberties and testing could prove too expensive.

"This is a very sensitive issue among many parents," said Art Lebowitz,
assistant superintendent for instruction for the Phoenix Union High School
District, which doesn't test students for drugs. "There are legal concerns
linked to student privacy issues . . . costs concerns . . . so this isn't
something we would enter into lightly.

"We also want to make sure that we're not just being reactionary, due to
(U.S. drug czar John) Walters' recent visit to Phoenix."

Walters came to Phoenix last week as part of his "25 Cities Initiative"
tour. Gordon and Maricopa County Attorney Rick Romley said they want much
of the local drug-prevention efforts to focus on youths, including
expanding random drug testing in schools. Testing would be voluntary, and
only parents, not law-enforcement officials, would be notified should
students test positive for drugs, they say.

The push follows President Bush's recent announcement that he's committing
$25 million in grants to school districts for random testing. But
opposition is already mounting. For example, in California a bill is being
considered to ban drug testing in schools.

Gordon said he's been concerned with youths taking drugs since he served in
the 1990s on the Madison Elementary School District board and learned of
"fourth-graders experimenting with alcohol and drugs."

"We need to identify these kids early before they get sucked in and
addicted . . . and we need to go beyond athletes because not all kids are
involved in sports," he said.

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that student-athletes and those in
extracurricular clubs can be tested for drugs. But only a handful of
Arizona school districts, including Paradise Valley, Queen Creek and Show
Low, now test. Students are generally placed in testing pools and randomly
selected throughout the school year.

"The opinion seems to have left the door open to testing even those kids
not in clubs or sports," said Chris Thomas, a lawyer for the Arizona School
Boards Association. "But I'm not aware of any school district that has
tried to test it because drug testing kids is highly controversial."

It typically costs about $25 for urine drug tests that check for alcohol,
marijuana and other illicit drugs. Steroids tests cost an additional $50 or
more. School districts typically pick up the tab. For example, Paradise
Valley, which annually tests between 400 to 500 high school students,
spends about $21,000.

Most of those tested are athletes at higher risk for steroid use. But even
members of non-athletic clubs, such as chess or drama, can be tested.

"The idea is that after-school sports and clubs are optional, and that
students who are drug-free can participate as a reward," Thomas said. "It's
sort of a carrot to keep kids away from drugs."

Having parents volunteer their children for random drug-testing programs
could help keep students on track, proponents say.

"It might make a kid think twice about experimenting with drugs, if they
know they could be picked to be tested," Romley said. "So it's another tool
for parents in this war against drugs."

Susan Presler, president of the Paradise Valley United Parent Council, said
she'd like the 35,000-student district to expand drug testing to middle
schools. Paradise Valley started testing in 1991 to address steroids use
among student-athletes.

"It works. We never have more than a handful of kids that test positive for
drugs, and most of them turn out to be kids taking approved prescription
medication," she said. "I think it really empowers kids to say no."

Others aren't convinced that volunteer testing programs curb student drug
use. Thomas cited a 2003 national study by the University of Michigan,
which states random testing has no effect on students' taking drugs.

"It showed that there is no real deterrent effect," he said. "So some could
ask why school districts should fund these programs if they don't really work."

Kimberly Lin, an incoming junior at Desert Vista High School in Ahwatukee,
questioned the effectiveness of "volunteer" testing programs.

"The only students tested now are the ones that have to test to play sports
or be in clubs," she said. "I doubt that other kids would volunteer because
what's the point? What incentive would they have?"

But Lin said substance abuse is a growing problem among students.

"A lot of kids do drugs," the 16-year-old said. "I don't. But it's
definitely going on."

The Arizona Criminal Justice Commission surveyed more than 12,000 eighth-,
10th- and 12th-graders from 59 schools as part of its 2002 Arizona Youth
Survey. It found that 21 percent of all the students had used marijuana
during the previous month. What's more, 48 percent of females and 44
percent of males had used alcohol.

At least one study, this one conducted by the Oregon Health & Sciences
University, states random drug testing can slash drug use among teens. The
2002 study compared two Oregon high schools and showed students subjected
to random drug testing were nearly four times less likely to use drugs than
their counterparts at a similar school without drug testing.

Romley has committed $100,000 to launch pilot drug-prevention programs in
at least five Phoenix school districts and $20,000 to expand Paradise
Valley's program.

Paradise Valley will soon survey parents to gauge their interest in
expanded drug testing. Should parents give the green light, then district
staff will study the issue before arriving at a recommendation for the
governing board, said district spokeswoman Judi Willis.

"We're very much in the initial stages right now," she said. "I think
parents will support it, but you never know. It could go either way."

Deborah Nichole, whose daughter attends Arcadia High School, a Scottsdale
Unified school in Phoenix, opposes student drug testing.

"I don't think schools should be in the business of drug testing kids,"
Nichole said. "If they suspect drug use, then notify the parents and let
them decide how to handle it. The city shouldn't be involved in this."