DISTRICTS WATCH EXPERIMENTAL DRUG TESTING

Should local school districts attempt to ensure that students who
participate in extracurricular activities do not use drugs?

And if they do, is it right to single out athletes? Or to randomly select
students for drug testing?

Those are among the questions local educators are facing this month as they
prepare for the start of another school year. The questions come in the
aftermath of a decision last month by the Collinsville School District to
approve random drug testing for student athletes.

The new policy will begin at Collinsville High School in the fall.

"It's a very interesting concept," said Granite City High School
Vice-Principal/Athletic Director Jim Greenwald. "It's just like any other
kind of teaching technique or curriculum. We want to learn as much about it
as possible, and I'm anxious to see how it pans out."

The topic has also been discussed in the Triad and Edwardsville school
districts. Educators in all of the districts want to discourage drug use,
but none other than Collinsville's -- have so far gone as far as approving
drug testing.

Greenwald said district officials in Granite have had only informal
conversation on the topic so far, mostly since Major League Baseball made
steroid use a hot-button issue in the media.

GCHS does not currently have an official drug testing policy unless a
student first gets caught using an illegal substance. In that case,
mandatory testing does kick in and the student is put into a special
program where they are educated on making better choices, the correct way
to train and on the proper use of supplements.

For things like alcohol, marijuana, tobacco and other illegal drugs, the
Granite City School District simply asks its students to abide by a basic
code of conduct policy.

"If we find that students are involved, there are some pretty serious steps
that take place," Greenwald said. "Our goal, though, is not to have them
kicked out of sports for the rest of their career. Instead, we want to put
them in a program where they are taught that what they are doing is illegal
and nothing good can come of this. Our goal is to make sure it won't happen
again."

Triad also has a code of conduct form pledging to be drug, tobacco and
alcohol free, which requires the signature of both students and parents.
Anyone caught breaking the code is normally suspended for a few days, while
repeat offenders risk being suspended for a full season. That suspension
could be reduced through testing and counseling.

District officials in Troy first discussed random drug testing nearly three
years ago, but eventually decided not to go ahead with it.

"We have considered it," said Triad High School Principal Robert Sudhoff.
"We looked at the pros and cons and just didn't think we were set up to do
it. There are some good things about testing, but right now, for us, there
are more cons for it."

One of the main factors in that decision was the cost.

Under Collinsville's program, which is paid for through the athletic fund,
tests are expected to cost between $25 and $35 each. A total of 48 randomly
selected student athletes are scheduled to be tested each school year.

The program was proposed by CHS Athletic Director Bob Hollingshead as a way
of "preventing and protecting" students against drugs.

Hollingshead said that in developing the program, he was looking at another
way to give students at CHS an "out" against peer pressure when it comes to
doing drugs or drinking.

Although Hollingshead said he's not aware of a drug problem at CHS, he said
he's "not going to be blind about it."

"I'm sure there are students who use drugs," he said. "Look at our society,
look at other schools from the very rich to very poor. You never know."

He called the plan a measure to prevent drug use.

"With all this emphasis on being the best, you always hear of athletes who
take steroids and end up dying at an early age," Hollingshead said. "Why
shouldn't we reach out and try to stop them?"

He said he also hopes the program will give high school students an excuse
to "just say no."

Critics of the plan question the accuracy of the drug tests, among other
things.

According to Sudhoff, there were also questions about how secure and
accurate the test results were, as well as who would be subject to be
tested if it would just for athletes or if it would include all
extra-curricular activities or even the general student population.

"Then there were questions about what kinds of drugs you would be testing
for," he said. "There are some that you can't, such as alcohol."

Along with all of the questions the district had, the issue also had been
hotly debated among Illinois and national lawmakers.

"It was before the courts at the time, and we didn't want to be a lightning
rod," said Triad Superintendent Dr. Michael Johnson. "We know that we have
some students that use (drugs). But we don't believe we have a problem to
the extent that we need to take such a drastic step."

The U.S. Supreme Court upheld drug testing for student athletes in a 1995
case. Three years later, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeal stated that
students in Illinois, Wisconsin and Indiana who participate in non-athletic
extracurricular activities could also be randomly tested for drugs.

In Edwardsville, Superintendent Dr. Ed Hightower said the district would
make its own decision on the topic and would not look towards
Collinsville's success or failure as a basis on whether to implement its
own policy.

"Our board's stance on drugs has been proactive and stern, by educating in
a preventative fashion," he said. "Whether they are in athletics, in the
band, chess club or National Honor Society, we take steps to ensure that
all students understand that using any kind of substance that alters or
enhances performance will not be tolerated."

Over the last academic year, Edwardsville sent home information to parents
about steroids and ways to spot symptoms in their teenagers. School coaches
and athletic directors also took time to speak about the subject with the
students themselves.

Whether their school districts have implemented official testing policies
or not, administrators recognized that drugs and alcohol are still
potential problems in any school district.

And all of them say they consider it important, both in the classroom and
at home, to do whatever possible to eliminate that problem.

"Our students are a representative of the general population," said
Sudhoff. "We are not ignoring or denying that we may have students that use
alcohol, tobacco or illegal drugs. If there are parents who are concerned
about their kids possibly using them, I would recommend that they get their
own screening test done through a family physician."