SCHOOL DRUG TESTING: IT'S TIME FOR ACTION

Students could be steered into appropriate drug education, counseling and
treatment.

The time for drug testing in schools is now.

Drugs -- particularly ice (crystal methamphetamine) -- are one of Hawai'i's
most serious problems. As with any problem, the sooner it is dealt with, the
better. If nothing is done, it will get worse.

The first line of defense to drug abuse is the functional family. Sadly,
there are scores of dysfunctional families in Hawai'i and elsewhere. There
are families where drug abusing, physically abusive, uninvolved,
disinterested and inadequate parents are the norm.

The children of such families are at great risk of self-destructive
behaviors. They are also sources of negative peer pressure for other
children. Put bluntly, bad kids put good kids at risk. And don't let any
Pollyanna tell you there are no bad kids.

The second line of defense to drug abuse is the schoolhouse. After their
life at home, this is the place where children spend most of their time. It
is here where they associate and interact with their peers, mentors and
teachers. It is also a place where they can learn about or become involved
in the self-destructive behaviors of substance abuse.

The last and most drastic line of defense is intervention by law enforcement
and the criminal justice system, with forced treatment or incarceration.

So an ideal place to start dealing with the problem of substance abuse by
children is the schoolhouse. It is a place where children from dysfunctional
families are removed from that environment. It is a place where they can
learn from functional adults whose mission is to train, teach and mentor.

Several years ago, Harry Connick, the Orleans Parish district attorney in
Louisiana, put together a coalition to begin a pilot program: the New
Orleans Public High School Drug Testing and Assistance Program. The goal of
the program was that by deterring young adults from beginning or continuing
drug use and identifying young adults who are involved in drug use, they
could be steered into appropriate drug education, counseling and treatment.

The intent of the program was to:

* Establish a drug-free and safe learning environment for all students.

* Identify high school students involved in substance abuse.

* Provide professional assessment of those students who are drug users.

* Provide professional assistance through treatment.

* Promote a school environment that will reduce and eliminate peer pressure
to use drugs.

* Improve overall academic performance of high school students by reducing
the detention, suspension and expulsion rates.

* Deter high school students from involvement in the criminal justice
system.

The program promised to provide:

* Program-funded drug testing using hair analysis.

* Manpower assistance to implement the program.

* No-cost substance abuse assessments and services for those students who
test positive.

The program was not implemented as a tool for the expulsion of or the
detection and criminal prosecution of student drug users. A student would
never be suspended or expelled from school based on a positive drug test
result. School personnel would not initiate criminal charges or other legal
action based on a positive drug test. School personnel were required to
ensure that testing results were never a part of the academic record of a
student. And confidentiality was to be fully maintained.

Mandatory drug testing was implemented in a number of private schools with
positive results. The principal of Pope John II High School stresses, "we
are not here to catch and condemn, but instead to educate and liberate our
teenagers in order to live clean, healthy lives."

The president of De La Salle High School reports that they tested over 2,000
heads of hair. "Fewer than 2 percent of the students test positive for the
first time and 98 percent of these do not test positive again. Detentions
for fighting have been reduced by 85 percent and those for disruptive
behavior decreased 65 percent." Mandatory drug testing works.

The principal of Mount Carmel Academy stresses the deterrent effect of the
program since students can resist negative peer pressure by saying, "I can't
use drugs because my school has mandatory drug testing."

Is the program constitutional? Yes. The U.S. Supreme Court has held that
drug testing is constitutional if there is a "compelling state interest"
justifying the tests. Hawai'i has a drug problem. It is in our schools.

We can wring our hands and worry about the current state of our schools and
the future our children will live in, or we can actually do something about
the problem. The time to act is now.