WHITE HOUSE ARGUES FOR SCHOOL DRUG TESTING

Effort Predicts Less Drug Use, But Opponents Contend Federal Program
Marginalizes At-Risk Students

ALBANY - To drug test or not to test is a tough question for a school
district.

Proponents of a Bush administration initiative aimed at convincing
more schools to give random drug tests to students came to Albany to
argue their case before a roomful of educators. Protesters from the
New York Civil Liberties Union tried to poke holes in their arguments
during question-and-answer sessions with the speakers.

Officials from the Albany school district and the Albany Roman
Catholic Diocese schools were among the 50 educators from three states
who attended the seminar. Speakers included an attorney who has
written a book supporting testing, a school principal that
aggressively tests student athletes and Dr. Dave Murray, chief
scientist for the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy.

Testing, Murray said, is "a useful tool. It's an opportunity not to
punish (drug users), but to give them help and counseling."

Nationwide, more than 4,000 schools have instituted drug testing
programs for students participating in extracurricular activities,
according to White House figures. Since 2003, the office has awarded
136 grants worth $40 million to assist with implementation and
development of existing student drug testing programs.

Albany area school officials said they were at the presentation just
to gather information and that such programs were not imminent. Cathy
Golas, director of Prevention Services for the Albany Diocese schools,
said more needs to be done to curb substance abuse at the high school
level.

"People are realizing it's not just telling kids not to do drugs and
alcohol - you have to have strategies," Golas said.

William Judge, co-author of the book "Doing It Right: Drug Free School
Testing," said such programs only cost about $4,000 annually and give
students an additional incentive not to cave into peer pressure. "You save
one child, it's been worth it," Judge said.

But Rahul Saksena, a NYCLU spokesman, said testing pushes many
students out of activities that otherwise could keep them away from
drugs. Districts that implement such policies face potential costly
legal battles, he said. ""It has to be a more comprehensive solution,"
Saksana said. "These policies ruin the trust students have with their
teachers."