STUDENTS FACE MORE DRUG TESTS

Trend Even Expands to Parking Lot; Local Schools Hang Back

So, you just got your driver's license and you want to park at the
high school? Soon, you may have to produce a clean urine sample to
earn the privilege.

In Albertville, all students who choose to park on campus could be
subject to random drug-testing as soon as January. The Albertville
school board heard the plan Thursday, but hasn't voted.

However, Albertville is just the latest Alabama system to join a
national trend - a trend that widened last year when the U.S. Supreme
Court ruled drug testing does not violate the privacy of students who
play ball, march in the band or even park at school.

Several Alabama systems already test student athletes. Other Alabama
systems, such as Hartselle City Schools, have widened that initial
scope to include all students who participate in any extracurricular
activity. This fall, Shelby County Schools set a new standard.

Shelby County Schools near Birmingham now randomly screen students who
park on campus. One student tested positive since school began, said
Cindy Warner, spokeswoman for Shelby County Schools. That student lost
parking privileges, she said.

"Unfortunately, we're living in a day when it may be a necessary
policy for school systems to have in place," said Dr. Mary Jane
Caylor, who represents North Alabama on the state school board.
"People shouldn't be afraid of it or resist it if they don't have
anything to hide."

The state doesn't track which systems screen which students, said Tom
Salter, a spokesman for the Alabama Department of Education. However,
the Albertville proposal and Shelby County policy are the first he's
heard of drug testing based on parking.

According to the national publication Education Week, about 5 percent
of public school systems across the country now test athletes for
drugs. About 3 percent also screen students in other extracurricular
activities. But those numbers are set to rise.

For the first time, the federal government has set aside tax dollars
for drug testing in schools. In 2003, there is $2 million available
through the U.S. Department of Education's Safe and Drug-Free Schools
Program.

"It's preventative," explained Superintendent Rob Sparkman in
Albertville. "We really don't have a large-scale problem. We're like
every high school. Every high school has some of this on campus. It's
unfortunate, but it's something you have to be mindful of."

Like Albertville, other systems may soon follow Shelby County.

"I think that will be something at the end of the year we'll take a
look at," said Dr. Lee Hartsell, superintendent of Hartselle City
Schools. Hartselle already randomly screens students from seventh
through 12th grade who take part in any extracurricular activity.

Last year, out of some 1,200 tests, Hartsell said, fewer than 20 came
back positive. Most were for tobacco, which carries the same penalty
as drugs.

Unless a student is caught in possession or under the influence, law
enforcement isn't notified and there can be no discipline outside the
privileged activity. For example, in Hartselle, those who tested
positive missed a third of their extracurricular activity and attended
weekly counseling sessions.

Here, the Madison County school board had debated the possibility of
randomly testing student athletes.

Board members eventually decided athletes were less likely to use
drugs than other students and that a suspension from the team wasn't a
severe enough punishment. Superintendent Ray Swaim also found it could
cost as much as $100,000 for every bout of screening. The board soon
dropped the matter in spring 2002.

"We don't test any students at all," said Dr. Jim Nash, director of
human resources for Madison County schools.

In Huntsville City Schools, Wade Lipscomb said random drug testing
would be helpful, but a large urban system can't pay what works out to
$15 per student per test.

Lipscomb, who oversees athletics for Huntsville schools, said only one
city school screened last year and it wasn't random. The parents of
the baseball players at Huntsville High agreed to have the whole team
tested.

As for screening students who park on campus, that may make the parking
lots safer, said Lipscomb: "I like the idea, but it's cost prohibitive."

Dr. Dee Fowler in Madison City Schools said his system does not randomly
screen any students.

In 1995, the U.S Supreme Court upheld random drug testing for student
athletes. Athletes had already given up an expectation of privacy by
joining the team, the court ruled.

In 2002, the justices expanded that ruling in a case involving other
extracurricular activities in Tecumseh, Okla. The court ruled students
in public schools have a diminished right to privacy.

Albertville Superintendent Rob Sparkman said he hopes to hear from
parents about his proposal. He spoke with officials in other systems,
including Hoover, Arab and Guntersville, about their testing programs
for athletes and other extracurricular activities.

But he wanted something broader. That led him to Shelby County's
policy on student drivers.

"It's always been our belief that (athletes are) just one segment of
your school population, " he said. "To single out one group, I don't
see that making the total campus safe."