ACTIVIST BACKS SCHOOL DRUG TESTS

Solving the crack epidemic and other drug problems should start with
random drug testing of high school students, says an activist who
lost his teen-age son to drugs in 1994.

Ken Braid flew into town last weekend to ask for a pro bono
commitment from Health First for drug tests in Brevard County. The
county's largest hospital network agreed. If Braid's program gets off
the ground, Health First would do the lab work for free, an official
said.

But the biggest hurdles - public opinion, the American Civil
Liberties Union and the School Board - remain. And at least one
opposes testing students.

There is no statute at the state level that blocks or mandates drug
testing of students in public schools, Florida Department of
Education officials said. Those decisions are made on a
district-by-district basis.

Braid, who lives in Colorado but lived in Melbourne Beach up until
his son's suicide, said this weekend's series in Florida Today on
crack cocaine is further proof there is a problem, particularly with
teens and drugs. The Florida Youth Substance Abuse Survey 2000
indicates local use of crack, hallucinogens and heroin among high
school students is double the state average, if not more.

"Those numbers will go down fast if we get this thing going," said
Braid, 49, who began a leadership foundation for teens and built a
youth ranch in Colorado in honor of his son, J. Kyle Braid. A starter
on Melbourne High School's varsity football team at age 16, Kyle took
his life seven years ago after using anabolic steroids for several
months. He was a sophomore.

"I wasn't going to let his life end like that," said Braid, who quit
his lucrative business as a door manufacturer to run the foundation
and the ranch. "He was too good of a kid."

Under Braid's drug-testing plan, a joint effort with Cocoa High
School's vice principal, Scott Stier, only students involved in
sports and other extra-curricular activities would be tested. The
students would authorize the random tests when they sign a
participation waiver to play football, or join the band or other
clubs and teams.

Students who test positive would be kicked off the club or team until
they enroll themselves in a drug-treatment program. They would then
be tested monthly for two months. Although there is no charge for the
initial test, the costs of follow-ups for students who test positive,
about $50 apiece, would come from the student. Students busted twice
would be kicked off the club or team for the remainder of the year.

The tests would check for substances including marijuana and cocaine,
and possibly alcohol.

"Our objective is not to catch a bunch of teenagers and bust them," Braid said.

Stier said: "We want to give them a way out. It's a way we can affect
a large amount of kids."

Braid has similar programs running in three out-of-state school
districts. Less than 10 percent of the kids test positive, he said.

That is partly why the ACLU opposes drug testing.

"It's not the School Board's place to do that," said Lisa Tietig, a
lawyer and president of the Brevard Chapter of the ACLU of Florida.
"It's an invasion of privacy.

"They're targeting those groups, so they need to be able to show
those groups have a problem with drugs. Plus, there's nothing to stop
parents from getting their kids tested."

Tietig's husband, Mark, who also is a lawyer and a member of the
ACLU, said: "They have to demonstrate a pretty compelling need.
Unless they do that, they shouldn't be able to breach a civil liberty
like that."

At least two student-athletes favor the idea.

"There's a lot of peer pressure among teens and I believe this is
another effective way to change their minds about doing drugs," said
Melanie Brang, a senior who plays tennis and is the class president
at Cocoa High. "It gives them another thing to think about."

Drugs are not as popular as alcohol, but they are out there, Brang
said. "They're in teens' faces. It's something we have to think
about."

Rhema Fuller, a senior at Cocoa High who plays football and
basketball, said: "If a person is identified, there's going to be
counseling, and that gives them a way to recognize they have a
problem and hopefully get over it. If they're tested positive,
there's consequences, but you're not immediately kicked off the team
indefinitely. So the students don't really have anything to worry
about it."

School Board member Larry Hughes isn't sold on the idea but said he
could be once he gets more information.

Board chairman Rich Wilson also wants to hear more.

"I think it could work, but I need some input from parents and
students," Wilson said. "But anything we can do to curtail or reduce
the use of drugs in Brevard County is certainly something we should
take a strong look at. I don't see any reason why parents or students
would object to this."

Raul Montes, a teacher at Cocoa High who coaches tennis, soccer and
swimming and whose child is a sophomore at Rockledge High School,
said drugs lead to situations that ruin high school dances and other
activities.

"Extra-curricular activities should be something special for
students," he added. "They should only be for students who are
keeping their acts clean."

Bill Edwards, Administrative Director for Laboratory Services for
Health First, pledged the organization's support Friday. Health First
would conduct about 150 tests a semester for an undetermined period,
Edwards said.

"I just think it's a wonderful thing," he added. "When these kids go
to parties, they can say no because they might be tested."

There are still details to work out, but Braid and Stier plan to take
their plan to the board after Thanksgiving.

"Confidentiality issues will have to be worked out because of the
civil liberties," Braid said. "We're going to go about this the right
way. I think it's timely and it's needed. The numbers show that."