PROGRAM FEATURES VOLUNTARY DRUG TESTS FOR 7TH GRADERS

TOWANDA -- The Towanda School District is launching a voluntary
drug-testing program for seventh-graders, which will reward students
for testing drug-free.

Students who test drug-free will receive discounts from local
merchants and/or free passes to school sporting events and dances,
according to written information supplied by Steven Gobble,
principal of Towanda Junior/Senior High School.

Students must volunteer to participate in the program, and they
would need their parents' permission to participate, too, Gobble said.

"This is an opportunity for those students who have not given into
peer pressure to be rewarded for their positive behavior," Gobble
wrote in a letter to parents. "The purpose of this program is to
promote positive behavior and to deter young children from ever
trying drugs in the first place."

The drug testing would take place in the nurse's office at the
junior/senior high school, Gobble said. The drug test would be
administered by an employee from Memorial Hospital, he said.

Early in this term, all participating students will submit to an
initial drug test, which would consist of an oral swab, Gobble said.

If a student tests negative, he will receive an identification badge.

"The student can use this badge to receive discounts from local
merchants and/or free passes to school sporting events and dances,"
Gobble wrote in the letter to parents.

Over the course of the school year, students will be randomly
selected to participate in a second or possibly third drug test, Gobble said.

If a student tests positive for drugs, his identification badge
would be revoked, Gobble said.

Also, the students' parents will be notified by mail of the results
of the drug tests. If the result is positive, additional materials
will be sent to the child's parents to help them "best deal with the
situation, including information about drug and alcohol counseling
opportunities," Gobble said.

In addition, if the student tests positive for drugs, he or she
would be referred to a Student Assistance Program counselor, Gobble
said. The referral will "ensure that the student receives the
necessary help and resources needed to deal with the
immediate situation," Gobble said.

A local non-profit organization, Partners in Family & Community
Development, is providing assistance to the program, Gobble said.

"Drug testing will be done by Memorial Hospital and the results will
be sent to Partners in Family & Community Development," Gobble wrote
in a letter to parents. "All information will be kept strictly
confidential at Partners in Family & Community Development. The
school administration and school staff will never be given the
results of the test."

"Identification numbers will be put on information reported to
conceal the identity of the students," Gobble wrote.

The school will not discipline any student who has received a
positive drug test, and their names will not be turned over to the
police, Gobble said.

The student who tests positive would not be allowed to re-join the
program until he had successfully passed two consecutive drug tests.

Other school districts in the United States have implemented similar
programs, Gobble said.

While the discounts that will be offered to students have not yet
been determined, they might include discounts on food, snacks, video
games and movie tickets, Gobble indicated.