DRUG TEST RULE ADDED BY TRUSTEES

EL DORADO, Kan. - This factory town outside Wichita is instituting random
drug screening for all middle and high school students participating in --
or even just attending -- any extracurricular activity. That includes
sports, clubs, field trips, driver's education, even school plays.

Those who don't sign consent forms cannot attend games, go to school
dances, join a club or park a vehicle on school property.

Administrators insist that the district does not have a drug problem, and
say the new policy, one of the toughest in the nation, is aimed at keeping
it that way.

"We see this in the best interest of our students. We don't see this as a
punitive measure," Superintendent Tom Biggs said.

Since the policy was enacted this school year, at least 425 out of 600
high-school students and 215 of the 315 middle school students have signed
forms consenting to random urine tests for alcohol, tobacco and drugs. No
one has been tested, and school officials don't want to tip off students
about when the first random drug test will be conducted.

Brett Shirk, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of
Kansas and Western Missouri, questioned the constitutionality of the
practice.

"That policy invades the privacy of students that need deterrence and
risks steering those students to a greater risk of substance abuse that
makes the drug problems worse," Shirk said. Some authorities said
excluding students from extracurricular activities will just lead them
into deeper trouble.

Some students, including Aurelia Resa, 17, said they are offended by the
policy. "What you do outside of school isn't anybody's business but
yours," Resa said.

But 16-year-old softball player Lauren Roedel said, "I don't have a
problem with it, because I don't do drugs."