DESPITE CONCERNS OVER CIVIL RIGHTS, A PLAN TO USE DOGS TO SNIFF OUT
contraband at Venice High could be the newest tool as School Officials Try
to Take a Bite Out of Drug Use

Responding to fears of parents about the presence of drugs and weapons on
campus, administrators at Venice High School are seeking approval from the
Board of Education to bring drug-sniffing dogs onto a Los Angeles Unified
School District campus for the first time.

Under the pilot program requested by Venice Principal Bud Jacobs and a
school committee, a dog and its handler would make unannounced visits to
check for contraband in lockers, classrooms and even cars.

Administrators know that some parents and students believe that the searches
would compromise students' civil rights or create a threatening atmosphere.

But supporters of the program see the dogs as one more tool they can use in
preventing drug use and violence in the school system.

Drug-sniffing dogs have been used in schools from Las Virgenes to Temple
City to Long Beach and in Orange and San Diego counties.

"We have to do everything we can, legally, to stop anything from coming on
to campus," Jacobs said.

Supporters are quick to point out that the dogs are not aggressive police
dogs but golden retrievers or Labradors.

They're "the kind you want to go over and pet," said school board member
Valerie Fields, who supports the proposal.

If the one-year test program is approved by the Board of Education at its
Aug. 4 meeting, Jacobs plans to work with a Houston-based company whose dogs
are trained to sniff for marijuana, cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine,
alcohol, a few medications and gunpowder.

Checked-by: Melodi Cornett