MEETING OUTLINES POSITIVE TESTING CONSEQUENCES

Students in the Scott County School District participating in
extracurricular activities will be subject to random drug and
alcohol testing starting this school year.

"We're looking at this as a preventative tool," said Superintendent
Frank McCurdy about the Scott County School Board's decision to
implement a drug testing policy. "We want this to be a deterrent. If
a child is using drugs, we want the parents and anyone involved to
know so they (the student) can be helped."

McCurdy spoke to principals and staff from schools within the
district, as well as parents, during a meeting last week concerning
the new policy. All students in grades seven through 12 involved in
extracurricular activities, including school clubs, must sign a
consent form agreeing to testing this school year.

Lori Hamilton with MEA Medical Clinic, the organization implementing
the tests, told those present at the meeting that all drug and
alcohol testing would be unannounced and confidential.

"I will treat your child like I would want my child treated if she
was tested," Hamilton said. "We are not here to find your kids and
make a public spectacle of them. We're here to give them other options."

Hamilton said that the schools would provide her office with a list
of eligible students to be tested and a computer would then randomly
select 10 percent of the names from a testing pool.

School administrators and staff will not know which students will be
tested until an MEA Medical Clinic representative arrives at the
school with a list of students to be tested.

The school nurse will act as the site drug test coordinator at each
campus. Testing will be conducted once each school quarter.

"We just show up at the school," Hamilton said. "They do not know
when we're coming."

The MEA representative will then collect a urine specimen from the
students. The specimen will be sealed with a statement indicating
that the student was present at the time. If a student is unable to
provide the urine specimen after one hour, a hair or salvia test
will be administered.

The school district may also require any activity student to submit
to a drug test if there is reasonable suspicion that the activity
student has or is using a prohibited drug and/or alcohol.

Some of the observation factors for reasonable suspicion testing
include (1)Direct observation by a coach/activity director of
drug/alcohol use (2) Abnormal or erratic behavior indicating
intoxication at school, practice or at an event function or contest
(3) Physical symptoms indicating intoxication including but not
limited to glassy or bloodshot eyes, slurred speech, loss of
balance, poor coordination or reflexes (4) First-hand information
provided by reliable and credible (preferably adult) sources of use
or intoxication while at school, practice, or at an event, function,
or contest (5) The presence of the drug on the activity student,
detectable by the senses, such as the smell of activated marijuana or alcohol.

Parents of non-activity students can request that their children be
tested as well.

McCurdy outlined the consequences students face if they test positive:

On the first positive, (1) the student must attend a drug counseling
or education program at the student's expense. (2) The student may
continue to participate in his/her extracurricular activities only
after the activity student's parent/guardian signs a Continuance of
Participation Waiver that releases the SCSD of any responsibility in
case the activity student should have any adverse reactions related
to the positive test indicating illegal drug or alcohol use. (3) The
student will be required to submit to periodic or unannounced
retests up to six months after the first positive test.

On the second positive, (1) the student will be suspended from all
extracurricular activities for one month. (2) The student must again
attend drug counseling or a rehabilitation program. (3) The student
must provide a negative retest to be reinstated in any
extracurricular activities. (4) The student will be required to
submit to periodic or unannounced retests up to one calendar year
after the second positive.

Any activity student's refusal to meet these criteria will result in
his or her immediate removal from all extracurricular activities.

On the third positive, (1) the student will be suspended from all
extracurricular activities for one calendar year. During the
one-year suspension, the student will then become part of the
general population and be subject to the general student reasonable
suspicion testing policy. Having a positive test under that policy
could result in alternative placement or expulsion from school.

Hamilton said that information on positive tests would not be
released to law authorities or to the media.

For more information on the drug and alcohol testing policy, contact
the Scott County School District at (601) 469-3861 or log on at
http://scott.k12.ms.us/.