Source:Orange County Registernews,page 1
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EDUCATION:Rising abuse nationwide leads the Santa Ana private high school
to broaden random testing.

By PAT BRENNAN The Orange County Register

SANTA ANAMater Dei High School,a private Catholic school recognized
countywide for its powerful sports teams,tough a The names of 2,110
Mater Dei students will be placed in a computer program that will
choose among them at random, said Principal Patrick Murphy. About 200
students will be tested each month.

"The latest studies coming out are saying that drug use among teens was
going up to the proportions seen in the 1970s." Murphy said. "We wanted to
give students an opportunity to say no without feeling peer pressure."

A number of public and private Orange Count schools rely on some form of
drug testing, primarily for athletes. Mater Dei may be the first large high
school in Orange County to institute mandatory tests to which all students
are subject.

A small private school, Claremont High in Huntington Beach, also randomly
tests all students, said Donna Connelly, the founder and director of the
school of 170 students.

"It's made a wonderful difference in our school," she said. "Kids who know
they can be drugtested any time have a reason to say no to drugs."

Murphy said Mater Dei's program emerged from four years of consultations
with parents, students and faculty at the school, where annual tuition is
$4,675.

"I think it's overwhelmingly supported by the parents," said Barbara Boese
of Villa Park, who has two children at Mater Dei and is a past president of
the school's Parent Activities Council.

She said hundreds of parents attended a meeting on the issue last year and
expressed their support. Others who did not attend later told the parents'
group they approved.

Among the 15 drugs targeted are alcohol, marijuana, amphetamines, cocaine
and heroin. The first time a student tests positive, parents will be
contacted and the school will help arrange for drug counseling. The second
time, the student will be disciplined in one of several ways, including
suspension, detention or placing the student on work details.

A third positive test will result in expulsion from the school, in
expulsion from the school, with a refund of any leftover tuition.

Murphy expects few or no legal challenges because Mater Dei is a private
school.

"We have a major advantage over public schools because we are under
contract law with our clients," he saidthe same laws that allow private
businesses to drugtest employees.

El Toro and Laguna Hills high schools offer voluntary drugtesting programs
for athletes; parents must give permission before students can participate.
Corona del Mar this year will initiate random tests for student athletes.

The school draws the line at mandatory tests for all students, however.

"The feeling of many school districts throughout the country is that there
could be legal repercussions if there was testing of every student," said
Corona del Mar Principal Don Martin.

The U.S. Supreme Court in 1995 upheld an Oregon public school's right to
impose mandatory drug tests on athletes; many school administrators
interpreted that to mean drug testing in extracurricular programs was
permissible, but not the testing of every student.

Edison High School in Huntington Beach began a voluntary drugtesting
program for athletes in 1985, but discontinued it three years ago because
of a lack of funds.

Principal Brian Garland said he would not favor random testing of students
even if there were no legal obstacles.

"I think there are certain rights young people have: not to be required to
give blood or urine tests if there is no reasonable cause to suspect (drug
use)," Garland said.

Mater Dei student Henry Smith, 16, said he thought the random testing was
good.

"It'll keep a lot of kids out of trouble," said Smith, who will be a
sophomore this year. "But we'll probably lose a few students (to expulsion)
by the time we graduate."

The reason, he said, was that some students at the school use drugs,
although he did not think it was a larger number than at any other school.

"There are a few kids who are angry about it," he said.