MORIAL PUSHES NEW DRUG-TEST POLICY

City To Finance Pilot Program

Attempting to forge a compromise in revising the student drug-testing
policy in New Orleans public schools, Mayor Marc Morial offered Wednesday
to use city money to pay for a comprehensive testing and treatment program
at one school.

At a meeting of the city's Criminal Justice Coordinating Council, Morial
gave District Attorney Harry Connick Sr. and members of the Orleans Parish
School Board 45 days to come up with a pilot program that covers all
aspects of student drug abuse, from testing and prevention to treatment and
family involvement. The mayor declined to estimate the cost of the program,
saying only that the money would come from state and federal grants that
the city has received.

"Let's try something," Morial said. "If it don't work, we'll pitch it out
the window. If it does work, we'll expand it."

The offer came after a rousing debate over proposed changes to the school
system's drug-testing policy, which is scheduled for adoption at Monday's
School Board meeting. Under the latest recommendation, a school can start
drug-testing programs only if two-thirds of the parents decide they want
it, a standard similar to that used when parents consider requiring
uniforms or renaming a school, board member Ellenese Brooks-Sims said.

Frederick A. Douglass High School has instituted voluntary drug testing
through hair analysis in conjunction with Connick's office after parents
signed petitions asking for the program. A similar program has been
approved at George Washington Carver, though it hasn't begun yet. The
school system also conducts random urinalysis drug tests on 3 percent of
the athletes and students involved in extracurricular activities.

Douglass became the first public high school in the state to offer
voluntary drug testing in September, but Brooks-Sims said it can't be
considered a success because few parents follow up with the principal or
get their children into treatment.

Such programs should only be put in place where parents want it,
Brooks-Sims said.

"The people who want to do this have a right to do this," she said. "And
those who don't have a right not to do it."

But Connick, who has relentlessly pushed drug testing through hair analysis
at all Orleans Parish public and private schools, said the school system
should go ahead and put drug-testing programs in place whether parents ask
for them or not. If excessive drug use constitutes a threat to overall
safety and security at the school, the School Board can implement such a
policy legally, he said.

"I don't think we should wait for parents," he said.

Morial said that while he used to be a board member for the American Civil
Liberties Union, a group that strongly opposes drug testing, he has changed
his mind. He asked that the pilot program reflect a compromise between
Connick and the School Board, and that it include input from substance
abuse counselors, law enforcement, social workers and others involved in
drug treatment.

The mayor's offer of city money comes at a time when his critics are
accusing him of paying lip service to school issues as a political ploy to
win a third term. The mayor has made improving public education the
centerpiece of his campaign for a City Charter change, which comes before
the voters Oct. 20.

In the meeting, even Morial's political adversaries applauded his decision.
Brooks-Sims, who lambasted the mayor last week for not consulting with
school officials before drawing up his education plan, said she takes
Morial at his word.

"I think it will be better than what's happening now," she said.