LOCKNEY DISTRICT TO TEST STUDENTS, TEACHERS FOR DRUGS

Lockney, Texas - Beginning Tuesday, students from sixth through 12th grades
and all teachers in the Lockney Independent School District will be tested
for drugs.

All students, not just those in athletics or other extracurricular
activities, will be required to take the test, school officials said.
Lockney is a town of 2,100 people 43 miles northeast of Lubbock.

Parents have been asked to sign consent forms. If parents refuse the tests
are considered positive, and students will face repercussions the same as
if they had failed the test, officials said.

"Its a long story, but society has just brought us to this point,"
Superintendent Raymond Lusk told the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. "Schools
have kind of become all things, and our job description has expanded."

The penalty for a first-time positive result is a 21-day suspension from
extracurricular activities, three days of in-school suspension and three
sessions of drug counseling.

Teachers testing positive for drugs will be fired.

"What scares me the most, if I do not sign it, they are going to punish my
child for what I did, and I definitely do not think that's right," Larry
Tannahill told the newspaper. "Every person has got a right to their own
opinion, and I do not think they can enforce this."