SILVER LAKE BOARD STUDIES DRUG TESTING

SILVER LAKE --The school district is considering implementation of a random
drug testing policy for athletes after four hypodermic needles were found in
the boys' locker room at Silver Lake High School.

Maintenance workers who were power spraying the locker room two weeks ago
washed the needles out from the piping above the ventilation duct, said
Steve Pegram, superintendent of Silver Lake Unified School District 372.

He said there was no way to tell how long the needles had been there. The
locker room facility is seven years old.

Pegram said he suspected the needles involved steroid use, but they have
been turned over to the Kansas Bureau of Investigation for a conclusive
analysis.

The Silver Lake school board took no action on the issue Monday night, but
asked the administration to research the random drug testing policies used
in other districts. Pegram said at least a year of study would be needed
before any sort of policy could be implemented.

In the meantime, guest speakers will warn athletes about the dangers of
steroid use beginning this fall.

"We don't want them (athletes) to feel they have to come out and do
something to improve themselves that isn't safe," he said. "We hope to give
them a reason to say 'no.' "

The Kansas Association of School Boards, which offers legal advice to its
members, is lukewarm to mandatory drug testing policies. Donna Whiteman,
executive director of legal services for KASB, said such policies can open
up school districts to litigation. Other approaches for limiting drug use
may be more effective.

"It's an area in which we certainly advise districts to exercise caution,"
Whiteman said. "The best practice is a fair and a random sample, where
everyone is subject to testing."

The U.S. Supreme Court supported mandatory drug testing for public school
athletes in a 1995 ruling, Vernonia School District 47J vs. Acton. The case
dealt with an Oregon school district that had used drug sniffing dogs and
educational assemblies to curb what it considered a serious drug problem
before turning to random testing.

The Acton family refused to sign a form giving the district permission to
test their son, James, for drugs. Subsequently, he wasn't allowed to
participate in seventh-grade football. The family sued.

The district argued that athletes are role models and that drug use among
athletes was a safety issue. The high court agreed, ruling that students
voluntarily participate in athletics and thus subject themselves to a higher
degree of regulation.