PARENTS PROTEST DRUG TEST POLICY

MILFORD -- While some students don't seem to mind random drug test in
schools, some parents don't see it as being quite so harmless.

The school board of the Milford Exempted Village School District voted at
the regular meeting July 20 to approve a new policy to randomly drug test
during the 2006-2007 school year.

"It's not really that big a deal," said Kristin Gunn, sophomore, who
participates in volleyball. "I don't really care. I mean, it's good; if
someone is doing drugs, I think it's a good thing."

Students participating in any athletics or co-curricular activities, such
as band, choir or the school newspaper, as well as any student choosing to
park on campus, will need to sign up for the testing.

Around 1,000 students in the 1,840-student high school will fall into one
of the categories requiring the drug testing.

"It's sort of not a big deal, but it bothers me that it's the athletes,"
said Lindsay Miser, sophomore, who participates in soccer and band. "They
are the ones running around trying to play football or basketball. It sort
of seems like they are going after the wrong people."

The policy reflects the district's effort to increase drug awareness at the
high school level while providing students with another reason to say no.

According to the policy, after a test comes back positive, the sample will
be tested a second time. If the results confirm the original test, the
student would be suspended from the activity they are participating in for
the remainder of the season, or likewise lose their parking permit for the
season.

The student would not be subject to a suspension or expulsion and no law
enforcement authorities would be involved in the matter. The program will
be funded through a grant from the Drug Free Schools federal program.

"I think it's a really good idea," said Becca Gunn, senior, who plans to
park on campus. "Milford isn't the only school with drug problems. I think
it will raise awareness.

"I think people might think more positively of Milford because it's there."

However, Aaron Sussell, parent of a high school student, thinks quite the
opposite and will not sign his daughter up for the program although she is
involved in a co-curricular activity.

"We realize that there are troubled kids in the schools and kids that may
use drugs," he said. "But, most other schools in our area have looked at
this and decided not to do it."

At the most basic level, Sussell and his wife, Cheryl, believe that the
testing is a violation of civil liberties.

"We feel like it's search without suspicion," Aaron Sussell said. "We would
like to see this challenged. We believe in civil liberties.

"If we don't work to protect our rights, given time, we won't have them."

Sussell cited a similar case where the Ohio American Civil Liberties Union
sued Dublin City School District for testing student athletes when there
was no information citing widespread use of drugs among student athletes.

While the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that drug testing can be used for
students athletes there is no case that has gone before the court regarding
testing students who park on campus, he said.

Beyond Sussell's legal issues with the policy, he doesn't believe the
testing works.

"There is quite a bit of research, and the research shows it just doesn't
work. It is a completely false logic," he said. "We have a huge federal
deficit and our local school districts are strapped as well. This is just a
waste of money."

Sussell pointed to a study by the University of Michigan that concluded
there was no significant difference between the number of students using in
a school with or without a testing program.

Finally, Sussell is concerned for the psychological impact this could have
on the students.

"(If they fail the test) you are going to remove them from the one activity
that maybe motivates them to stay in school or motivates them not to use
drugs," he said.

He also believes that the students could be negatively impacted by the fact
that students and teachers in the school will automatically know the
results of the test if someone is taken off a team.

The environment could become one of distrust between the students and
teachers in the school, Sussell said.

"It makes the school like a prison and the students like prisoners," he
said. "I fail to see how that is going to make a more excellent environment
and make people want to come to school."