DE SOTO SCHOOLS CONSIDER DRUG TESTS FOR STUDENTS

Joe Novak says today's teens are bold, bright risk-takers, and
policies that used to steer kids away from drugs and alcohol just
don't work anymore.

So the Mill Valley High School principal supports a De Soto School
District proposal that could bring random drug testing to the Johnson
County district.

If the policy is adopted, De Soto would join school districts in Oak
Grove in Missouri and El Dorado near Wichita, among others, in
conducting random drug tests of students who participate in
extracurricular activities.

"It's one component, not the end-all and be-all of the program," said
De Soto school board President Janine Gracy, who also is the director
of the Regional Prevention Center of Johnson, Leavenworth and Miami counties.

"It may not have the effect that we want it to have on every student.
But for the majority of kids who participate in extracurricular
activities, this will get their attention."

Although hundreds of schools nationwide have adopted random drug
testing policies, most have not.

For example, spokeswoman Leigh Anne Neal said that the Shawnee
Mission School District is not considering such a policy.

And at least one researcher isn't sold on drug tests as a deterrent.

Linn Goldberg, a professor of medicine at Oregon Health and Science
University in Portland, studied drug use over the course of two years
by athletes at 11 Oregon high schools. Some of the schools had random
drug testing policies; others did not.

The study, published this month in the Journal of Adolescent Health,
found that random testing did not necessarily keep the athletes off
drugs or alcohol.

While those who advocate testing say it gives students one more
reason to say no when pressured to drink or use drugs, Goldberg
doubted it. He said that the kids he studied did not think the chance
of testing positive was necessarily a reason to say no.

In addition, some students recognize that the odds are against being
tested, Goldberg said. Random tests might not catch the occasional
drug user, he said."I'm not against drug testing," Goldberg said.
"I'm for the study of drug testing. But until it's proven, why would
you use it?"

Goldberg said he would rather see schools use drug education
programs, which he said have been proven by research to be effective.

Gracy and Novak said that education would continue to be part of the
De Soto district's comprehensive effort, which could include parents,
students and the community.

"Alcohol and drug abuse by adolescents is not just a school problem,"
Gracy said. "It's a community problem. It's a family problem. It's a
peer problem."

Novak said that the idea of drug tests didn't arise in response to a
particular incident. He said it grew from a series of reminders that
his students were not immune from drug and alcohol use: phone calls
from parents, reports from the school resource officer and
conversations with kids about drinking at weekend parties.

Matt Acree, a sophomore at Mill Valley High School, is part of the De
Soto district committee that has spent a year studying the issue. He
favors drug tests.

"We do have a problem," he said. "And the district says it wants to
fix the problem."

Oak Grove tests high school students who participate in
extracurricular activities and those who want to drive to school. The
district has completed three rounds of testing so far, and no one has
tested positive, Superintendent James Haley said.

Haley said there has been no decline in participation in
extracurricular activities and no fewer requests for parking permits.

"A lot of parents see this as a support system for them, as well," he said.

The Oak Grove and El Dorado districts use urinalysis, and the drug
tests are done by an outside agency.

Norm Wilks, the El Dorado administrator who oversees that district's
drug testing program, said that students are chosen randomly by a
computer program operated by the outside testing agency. Some
students have tested positive, Wilks said, but only a few.

The district has continued with education efforts, including school
resource officers and student-led drug awareness groups.

Wilks said it may be too soon to say whether the policy is having an
impact, but El Dorado Superintendent Sue Givens said it can tell
administrators one of two things.

"Either you find out you have a problem you need to address and can
help parents with early intervention, or you find out you don't have
a problem. It's important either way."

COMING UP

The De Soto School District committee that has been studying drug
testing will present its findings and gather input from the community
at two meetings this month:

.6:30 p.m. Nov. 27, De Soto High School, 35000 W. 91st St., De Soto.

.6:30 p.m. Nov. 28, Mill Valley High School, 5900 Monticello Road, Shawnee.