MORE DRUG TESTS, SCHOOL OFFICIAL SAYS

Advocates Are Encouraged By Top Court Ruling

Encouraged by a U.S. Supreme Court ruling two weeks ago that cleared the
path for more drug testing of children in public schools, Jefferson Parish
School Board member Barry Bordelon is pushing to extend the system's drug
screening program to students with discipline problems.

Under his plan -- which the board could take up tonight -- middle, junior
high and high school students who are suspended three times would be tested
using hair samples.

"With some of these new Supreme Court rulings," Bordelon said, "I think
it's a matter of the board being willing to step up and take some really
bold steps."

In June, the court said schools can test students in all types of
extracurricular activities without violating their constitutional
protection from unreasonable searches. Before that, the court had endorsed
testing only for athletes.

Although the justices did not specifically address the question of testing
students with discipline problems, Bordelon said he is confident in the
legality of his idea because students with behavior problems often draw
suspicion that they could be using drugs.

"I think we're being more than reasonable in singling out chronic
discipline problems," Bordelon said. "This is a safety issue for me.
Chronic discipline problems affect the school environment. My motive is to
improve the school environment."

But Joe Cook, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union in
Louisiana, took issue with Bordelon.

While Cook said "bizarre" behavior could warrant a drug test, he argued
that discipline violations alone do not necessarily mean a student is using
drugs.

"It presumes that all these students are criminals, guilty of drug use,
unless they can prove their innocence," by submitting a sample of body
tissue and testing negative, Cook said. "What kind of civics lesson is that
teaching?"

Bordelon's plan would not allow suspended students back into class until
they agree to be tested. If they test positive for drugs, their parents
would be notified and they would be referred to counseling, in keeping with
the system's broader testing policy.

The School Board approved a new testing program in March. It will take
effect in August.

It requires high school students in physically strenuous extracurricular
activities to submit to the hair tests or be excluded from the activities.
If they test positive for drugs, they will be suspended from the team, band
or club for 90 days while receiving counseling. Then they will be tested
again to see whether they can return to those pursuits.

The policy also establishes two schools, East Jefferson High in Metairie
and John Ehret High in Marrero, where parents can sign up their children
for drug tests regardless of their participation in sports or clubs. A July
20 half-cent sales tax referendum could pay for expanding that voluntary
program to all high schools.