PETAL HIGH PLANS TO ENACT DRUG TESTING

Policy Aimed At Students Involved In School Organizations

The Associated Press

Petal High School students involved in extracurricular activities will face
random drug tests this fall.

The Petal School Board on Tuesday approved the plan.

"This is something we have been wanting to do for several years,"
Prin-cipal Jack Linton said. "We've been conducting drug tests on all of
our athletes for the past 10 years and wanted to extend it to include
students who are involved in competitive-based extracurricular activities."

The new policy affects students in the band, show choir, chorus, forensics
and drama teams, among others, Linton said.

Ten percent of whatever the total number of students in the organization is
will be randomly tested for drugs, he said.

Aside from talking to community members and those on the school board, the
issue was addressed at the Shared Decision Council, a forum at the high
school that includes teachers, professionals, students and parents, Linton
said.

"Everyone we spoke to was behind this idea all the way," James Hutto, Petal
School District superintendent, said. "The whole idea is not to try and
catch a student doing something wrong, but to act as a deterrent."