ATTENDING SCHOOL PLAY REQUIRES DRUG TEST IN KANSAS

EL DORADO, Kan. (AP) -- Random drug testing of student athletes has become
as routine as study hall and lunch at many high schools across the
country. But this factory town outside Wichita is taking testing to the
extreme.

It 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 so much as park their car on school property.

Administrators insist 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 is a
punitive measure," said Superintendent Tom Biggs.

Since the policy was enacted this school year, at least 425 students out
of 600 high schoolers, 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 yet, 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 that
excluding students from extracurricular activities will just lead them
into deeper trouble.

Some students, including 17-year-old Aurelia Resa, said they are offended
by the policy. "What you do outside of school isn't anybody's business but
yours," Resa said. "They should be able to respect your privacy."

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

A 2002 Supreme Court ruling opened the door to drug-testing of athletes,
and the federal government has promoted drug testing, awarding $7.5
million in grants last year to help schools start such programs.

The White House drug-policy office estimates 2,000 public and private
districts conduct drug tests. The National School Boards Association has
reported that 5 percent of public school districts test athletes and 2
percent test students involved in extracurricular activities.

"It is really a rural and suburban policy issue. Almost no major school
districts have implemented random drug testing programs in major cities
and urban areas," said Jennifer Kern, a researcher for the New York-based
Drug Policy Alliance, which promotes non-criminal alternatives in fighting
drugs.

School officials in El Dorado, a town of 12,660 where the biggest
employers are a refinery and a balloon factory, say that under the new
policy, covering grades 7 to 12, positive test results will not be
reported to police and will not affect a student's academic participation.

But parents will be notified, and offenders will be suspended from
extracurricular activities, the penalty escalating from two weeks to more
than four months for repeat violations.

Rod Bieker, general counsel for the Kansas Department of Education, said
of El Dorado's all-encompassing policy: "No one is going to know whether
that is constitutional or not."

In 1999, a federal court struck down a school policy in Lockney, Texas,
that required drug testing of all youngsters in grades 6 through 12,
whether or not there was any suspicion of drug use.

Dave Adams, the father of a 17-year-old student at El Dorado High and a
city police officer, said the district's previous rules about drugs and
alcohol were weak and tolerated bad behavior.

"I think all too often we want to let things slide because we put winning
before anything else," Adams said. "At this age level we need to be
teaching fundamentals - good sportsmanship and good citizenship."

Pam Coley, who has 14- and 16-year-old daughters at the school, said drug
testing is "no big deal" and most parents in the community support it.

"There probably has been way too much leniency in the, past and things
kind of swing one way or the other," she said. "El Dorado is a fairly
conservative community, and Kansas is, too."