LOCKNEY APPROVES NEW DRUG-TESTING POLICY

LOCKNEY, Texas (AP) - A West Texas school board went back to the drawing
board, unanimously approving a new drug-testing program for secondary
students after an earlier policy was declared unconstitutional by a federal
judge.

The Lockney school board voted 6-0 on Tuesday to implement a testing policy
that applies only to students in grades 7-12 who participate in
extracurricular activities. The earlier policy mandated testing of all
secondary students.

"I don't feel like we have a drug problem right now. This is a chance not
just for athletes but for every kid in this community to say no," Athletic
Director Joe Robison said in Wednesday's editions of the Lubbock
Avalanche-Journal.

The district patterned its policy after one in Oklahoma that was upheld in
June by the U.S. Supreme Court. In a 5-4 vote, the high court agreed to
allow testing of students who join competitive after-school activities.

In 2000, Lockney approved a mandatory drug testing policy for all secondary
students. That plan was challenged by parent Larry Tannahill, who refused
to let his son be tested.

Tannahill and the American Civil Liberties Union sued the rural school
district.

In 2001, U.S. District Judge Sam Cummings ruled the district's policy
violated the constitutional rights of students and said mandatory testing
came at "a great price."

The district later dropped its appeal.

Tannahill was out of town Tuesday night, his wife told the
Avalanche-Journal, and could not be reached for comment on the new policy.

School Superintendent Raymond Lusk said the district staff believes there
is "a definite need for it, and they encourage it."

If students refuse to participate in the testing program, they will be
ineligible for sports and other extracurricular activities.

Parents of students who fail a drug test must prove within five days that
counseling has been arranged. Students also must submit to a second test
within two weeks.

Lockney, a town of about 2,000 people, is about 43 miles northeast of Lubbock.