RESCIND POLICY IMMEDIATELY

(This is a copy of a letter sent to Milford Board of Education President
Carol Ball.)

My husband and Iare adamantly opposed to the new random drug testing policy
at Milford High Schoolapproved at the school board meeting tonight
(Thursday July 20, 2006 ).We don't want our local, state, orfederaltaxes
wasted on bad policies.

We are parents of a Milford High School honor student, and have voted for
all of the Milford school levies.We are not impressed that the district
will pay for this new drug testing through the Drug Free School federal
grant monies. We are extremely disappointed that you have decided to adopt
bad policy that will waste our tax dollars ( yes, we pay federal taxes too)
and do a lot of harm to the school our daughter attends. It will be a huge
distraction from the job you should be doing. Most importantly , rigorous
scientific studies have shown that high school drug testing policies simply
do notwork -- there is no reduction in drug use in schools that have random
testing compared to schools that don't do drug testing. (see the study
summary abstract attached, full study at:
http://www.yesresearch.org/publications/occpapers/YESOccPaper2.pdf ).

Some of the reasons that this is a bad policy for Milford schools are:

- - Drug testing is not effective in deterring drug use among young people;

- - Drug testing is expensive, taking away scarce dollars from other, more
effective programs that keep young people out of trouble with drugs;

- - Drug testing can be legally risky,it will expose theschools to
potentially costly litigation;

- - Drug testing may drive students away from extracurricular activities,
which are a proven means of helping students stay out of trouble with drugs;

- - Drug testing can undermine trust between students and teachers, and
between parents and children, creating a prison-like environment in our
schools;

- - Drug testing can result in false positives, leading to the punishment of
innocent students;

- - Drug testing does not effectively identify students who have serious
problems with drugs; and

- - Drug testing may lead to unintended consequences, such as students using
drugs (like alcohol) that are more dangerous but less detectable by a drug
test.

There are alternatives to drug testing that emphasize education,
discussion, counseling and extracurricular activities, and that build trust
between students and adults. We refer you to research-based guidelines in
the publication "Preventing Drug Use Among Children and Adolescents"
published by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of
Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
(http://www.drugabuse.gov/Prevention/Prevopen.html)

We want Milford Schools to pursue these, not random drug testing.

We would be happy totalk about this issue withreporters, as this issue of
importance to all parents in the region.

We want you to immediately rescind this policy, and concentrate on
educating our children and creating a positive environment in our schools.
Our continued support for Milford Exempted Village Schools will depend on
your response.

Cheryl and Aaron Sussell, Wallace Avenue, Milford