JUDGE ALLOWS STUDENT CHALLENGING DRUG TESTING TO ACT AS DRUM MAJOR

TULIA - U.S. District Judge Mary Lou Robinson granted a restraining order
Tuesday allowing 16-year-old Molly Gardner to take her position as drum
major at Tulia High School.

Gardner had requested the restraining order because the Tulia school board
rescinded her exemption from drug testing, which it granted after her family
and cousin Hollister Gardner filed a federal lawsuit challenging the
testing. The exemption applied to anyone challenging the practice of random
testing of students in extracurricular activities.

At its June meeting, the TISD board of trustees voted to rescind the
exemption.

"The board thought it has been long enough to enjoy a special status," said
school superintendent Mike Vinyard. "They decided it was time to apply the
rules to everyone uniformly."

Dan and Jo Beth Gardner, Molly's parents, filed a petition for a restraining
order on June 20 to allow their daughter to participate in activities until
Robinson can rule on the constitutionality of the testing program.

That trial is scheduled to begin Aug. 17, but the Gardners are requesting a
ruling on the injunction before school begins Thursday. Hollister Gardner,
who is representing himself, filed suit in January 1997, arguing the
district was violating search and seizure protections in the U.S.
Constitution by conducting random tests without cause.

Within one week of the first suit, TISD trustees were notified Dan and Jo
Beth Gardner, as parents of Molly Gardner, then an eighth grade student,
were suing on similar grounds.

The 1996 TISD policy requires parents and students to sign permission slips
agreeing to random drug testing as a condition of involvement in
extracurricular activities.