DRUG TESTS FOR GRANITE FALLS ATHLETES END IN THE FALL

School district concerned about some legal issues

GRANITE FALLS -- The Granite Falls School District will stop giving
random drug tests to student athletes next fall despite findings that
suggest the tests have reduced student drug use.

The American Civil Liberties Union requested documents from the school
district about its policy earlier this year, which prompted the
district to seek separate legal opinions from its attorney and
insurance company.

"We have two different legal opinions ... that caused us enough
concern that we felt that the legal basis for our policy was in
question," said Gary Wall, the school district superintendent.

It was the only public school district in Snohomish County and one of
a handful across the state to require the urinalysis as a
drug-screening procedure.

The school board adopted the policy last summer after divided
community debate. Some parents and students argued that it was a
blatant invasion of privacy, an erosion of constitutional rights and
discriminated against athletes. Other parents strongly endorsed the
policy saying it was a necessary step to keep teens off drugs.

Drug-testing policies in other states have withstood constitutional
challenges, but Washington doesn't have the same legal precedence,
Wall said.

Granite Falls, a rural school district with a tight budget, did not
want to become a test case in Washington.

"We did not want to be the ones to pay the freight," Wall
said.

The school board adopted the drug-testing program last summer for a
one-year trial run. It will let the policy lapse July 31.

District officials say the policy was meant to be preventative rather
than punitive. Students who tested positive were not suspended from
school. They could continue to practice with their teams but were
excluded from participating in athletic events for a month.

Over three sports seasons, 94 random drug tests were given to
students. Eighty-eight turned up negative, three were positive. There
were flaws in the testing procedures with the other three.

"Our data says that the program has been, we think, successful in
deterring the use of illegal drugs," Wall said. "We know we have got
some kids help who would not have got help otherwise."

Twelve students told the school's drug and alcohol counselor they were
"staying clean" because of the testing, according to a district report.

The cost of the drug tests was well within the $3,000 budget, school
officials reported. The fee was $18.50 to test for 11 drugs and
alcohol when the district began the trial period last year.

The ACLU has been monitoring the Granite Falls policy and has had
discussions with other school districts across the state that
considered but decided not to adopt drug policies, said Jerry Sheehan,
legislative director for the ACLU in Seattle.

Sheehan called the tests "a suspicionless search of the body," one of
the main reasons the ACLU objects to them.

"Certainly, we are pleased with this outcome," Sheehan said
Monday.

You can contact Eric Stevick by phone at 425-339-3446
.

Checked-by: "Rich O'Grady"