TALBOT SCHOOLS END DRUG TESTING

Officials Take Action To Settle A Lawsuit By Easton Parents

EASTON - In an action being hailed by civil libertarians, Talbot County
school officials agreed last night to scrap a drug testing policy in which
18 students were ordered to provide urine samples that were tested in front
of other students in the school auditorium.

Under terms of a settlement of a lawsuit filed by Easton High School
students, parents and the American Civil Liberties Union, Talbot's
seven-member school board also agreed to pay damages and to let parents
decide whether to seek private testing for their children if officials
suspect drug use.

The settlement of the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Baltimore
requires the school system to:

* Pay an undisclosed amount in damages to the students, as well as their
legal fees.

* Arrange a meeting of school board President Steven Harris, Superintendent
J. Sam Meek, students and parents to hear student complaints and to
apologize "for any harms the students suffered."

* Remove any mention of drug testing from the students' files.

* Conduct an internal review of the conduct of Meek, school Principal
Timothy Thurber, county Health Department drug counselor Sarah Smith and
pupil service coordinator Beth Nobbs.

"The decision to do away with the drug testing was the school system's
idea," said ACLU attorney Deborah Jeon. "We think it reflects a more
thoughtful realization that the benefits of drug testing aren't worth the
risk. They've agreed to return a measure of authority to parents."

Parents who formed Talbot County Advocates for Student and Parental Rights
in January, shortly after students were threatened with suspension or
expulsion if they did not provide urine samples, hailed the settlement as a
clear indication that school officials overstepped their authority.

"We think the message of this settlement is clear: What happened at Easton
High School last winter violated students' fundamental constitutional
rights," said Lynne Ewing, group president.

Graham Boyd, who heads the ACLU's national drug policy litigation project,
said drug testing in schools is relatively rare, but the Talbot case might
cause other school systems to review policies.

"A majority of schools in this country do not do this kind of drug testing,"
Boyd said. "In most cases, officials decide it's expensive, ineffective in
stopping drug use and subject to these kinds of abuses. But, to my
knowledge, this is the first time a school system has admitted wrong, paid
damages and dropped the policy."

In many systems, lockers and cars on school property are routinely searched
and student athletes must submit to drug testing, Boyd said, practices
generally upheld by the courts. But the Talbot case appears to be unique, he
said.

"I don't know of any horror stories like this one where you have a policy
that turns educators into enforcers," Boyd said. "I think this case will
give people the courage to stand up."

The incident that sparked the lawsuit began Jan. 18 when 18 students were
called from classes and told to assemble in the auditorium.

A student had told school officials that a group of teen-agers attended a
private party in Oxford two days earlier where drugs and alcohol were used,
according to documents in the case. Students identified as party-goers were
summoned to the auditorium.

The teens, ages 13 to 18, were told they would be suspended and possibly
expelled if they did not submit to tests. Parents said they were told to
sign consent forms or their children would be immediately suspended.

Held in the school auditorium, students provided urine samples in specimen
bottles that were then lined up on the stage and tested with disposable kits
similar to home pregnancy tests.

A school security officer waited outside a restroom stall as boys provided
urine samples. A female guidance counselor stood by in a one-toilet restroom
as girls did the same, students and parents said.

Parents said they were furious that officials made no effort to keep results
confidential. A girl was asked if she was on medication "such as birth
control pills" that might produce a false positive result.

A boy whose test showed a positive result was escorted from the school in
full view of other students. He was reinstated after a private drug test
showed the first test had been flawed.