DISTRICT SAYS ATHLETE DRUG TESTS A SUCCESS

Two years and two positive tests later, the Grand Blanc School District has
decided to continue random tests of student-athletes a third year.

But other Genesee County districts are keeping an arm's length.

Grand Blanc Superintendent Gary P. Lipe said data spanning 15 to 20 years
indicates a youth drug problem that nothing - not DARE programs, parents
nor community support groups - has touched.

Until now. The Grand Blanc program, which is the only one of its kind in
the state, seems to be having an impact.

"What we saw last year was a smaller number of kids reporting involvement.
You're looking at athletes that at least during the season are obviously
remaining drug-free," Lipe said.

"Now, can we prove that they would be drug-free if we didn't have the
program? No, because there is no way to do that."

Still, testing and drug survey results suggest Grand Blanc student-athletes
are less likely to use drugs than the sophomores and seniors surveyed by
Western Michigan University last spring.

Of 284 student-athletes drug-tested in 1999-2000, only one tested positive
for illegal substances, and only one tested positive the year before.

But of Grand Blanc seniors included in the WMU survey, marijuana use rose
from 35.7 percent in 1999 to 46.9 percent in 2000. The survey reached about
half the seniors.

The WMU survey news was not all grim, though. Sophomores showed a drop in
marijuana use from 41 percent in 1999 to 28 percent of students in 2000.

While Grand Blanc administrators are happy with the athlete drug-testing
program, it still faces legal hurdles.

Former student Micah White filed suit in Genesee County Circuit Court last
year, claiming the policy violated his constitutional right against search
and seizure when the district required him to agree to a drug test before
joining the wrestling team.

The case was assigned to Judge Geoffrey L. Neithercut; hearing dates have
not been set. White is heading to Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania to
study philosophy and prelaw this year, said his mother, Monica White.

The Grand Blanc School District contends that a 1995 Supreme Court case out
of Oregon allows the tests, but Michael J. Steinberg, legal director for
the American Civil Liberties Union in Michigan, argues the two cases differ
dramatically.

"In that case the students were the leaders of the drug culture and there
was a terrible drug problem in the school," said Steinberg, who is
representing White.

The drug tests were upheld under the U.S. Constitution. The court ruled
special circumstances exist for sports, citing the example of requiring
physicals and noting the risk of injury if under the influence of drugs
while playing.

White's attorney will invoke the Michigan Constitution, which provides
greater protection against suspiciousless searches, Steinberg said.

Grand Blanc tests weekly on a rotating, random day and aims to test25
percent of those participating in each sport, or about 20 kids a week.

"Some kids are tested as many at three times, their names come up and their
parents wonder if you suspect them of something," Lipe said.

A medical review officer from a Lansing drug-testing company calls high
school Principal Michael Newton if a student tests positively. Newton calls
the parents, who then confer with the medical review officer. Newton never
knows for which drug a student tested positive.

"The coach doesn't know about it, the team doesn't know about it, unless
the students chose to tell. We really work hard to make sure nobody knows,"
he said.

A student may stay on the team, but must pass weekly drug tests for the
next six weeks. A student must leave the team if he tests positive twice.

"It gives student-athletes a good reason to say no to their friends" who
may pressure them to do drugs, said Lipe.

Since Grand Blanc implemented the policy in 1998, other districts are
watching, but most have left policing to parents.

Goodrich Superintendent Raymond C. Green said the district has no similar
plans. Instead it advises parents to stay vigilant.

"We just haven't wanted to get involved with administering that kind of
program," Green said. "It's very time-consuming and laborious and
record-keeping (is extensive.) We just don't feel that's the way we want to
handle it."

"Very honestly there has never been to my knowledge any discussion at any
level within the Flintschools about that as a possibility," said Rudy V.
Collins, director of pupil personnel service in the Flint School District.

"It's not one of those strategies that is being hailed as a solution."

Like Goodrich, many schools concentrate on prevention and education.

In Davison, discussions were suspended until the Grand Blanc suit is
resolved. That leaves the district with a reasonable-suspicion testing
policy, said Superintendent Robert C. Hahn.

"If adults felt students were under the influence of drugs on school
property, then we may talk with parents about drug testing," Hahn said. It
was done once last year, and the student tested negatively for drugs.

Additionally, for the last several years the local police loaned Davison an
alcohol breath-tester for the prom, and it's used based on reasonable
suspicion.

If Grand Blanc withstands its legal challenge, Davison will likely resume
the discussions, but Hahn said that is no guarantee it would be approved.

"So then there is a legitimate question whether it's worth the time, the
expense, and the invasion of privacy involved," to net two positive tests,
Hahn said.