BRITISH SCHOOL'S DRUG TESTING PILOT PROGRAM FUELS CIVIL LIBERTIES DEBATE

FAVERSHAM, England - A British school has launched a pilot program where
students as young as 11 are subjected to random drug tests - a project that
has generated interest in Washington and fed a civil liberties debate on
both sides of the Atlantic.

The Abbey School in this southeastern market town is testing students by
mouth swab for traces of heroin, cocaine and marijuana. Parents must give
permission for the testing, and even then students can refuse.

Former headmaster Peter Walker, who started the program, gave up his school
job to become Britain's official ambassador for drug testing. He recently
went to Washington to give a presentation to John Walters, director of the
White House drug policy office.

Since the program began in January 2005, only one out of nearly 600
students has tested positive for marijuana - a record Walker attributes to
students steering clear of drugs because of the tests.

"I've got nothing to hide," says Daniel Kelly, 14, who was plucked out of
class to have his mouth swabbed and saliva tested for drugs. He doesn't
mind the testing, saying that since it applies to most students: "It's not
as if I'm the only one."

Critics say the tests violate students' privacy and could open the door to
lawsuits. As the program expands, some say children will find their rights
to object to the tests eroded.

Rights activists say drug testing in schools is another infringement on
privacy in Britain, where closed-circuit television cameras are ubiquitous
and lawmakers are debating identity cards that would store biometric data
such as fingerprints or iris scans.

Liberty, one of Britain's largest civil rights groups, says testing could
wrongly turn students into suspects if they refuse. The American Civil
Liberties Union says the tests are imprecise and violate students' basic
rights.

"Students have to reveal medical information that would explain why certain
test results might come up - the school is then in possession of private
medical information," said Graham Boyd, an ACLU lawyer. "You could have
teachers leaving it in a folder, open on a desk - and it could include
information about mental health or birth control prescriptions. That's
nobody's business, and especially for someone who is an adolescent."

After planning for years, Walker persuaded a newspaper to fund the pilot
project. Jenny James, the current Abbey headmaster, promises to continue
the program.

This month, head teachers at just under 100 schools in the county of Kent
will consider whether to implement drug testing. After that, the data will
be evaluated by the national Department for Education and Skills and Kent's
municipal government. Supporters say they will push to expand the program
nationally if results show it has been a success.