SCHOOL BOARD EXAMINES DRUG TESTING POLICIES

The Goshen County School Board and the District Athletic
Administrators Committee (DAAC) are considering whether a random drug
testing policy for students at Goshen County high school would help
deter drug use among local youth.

Jim English, assistant principal of Torrington High School and one of
the members of the DAAC, said the board and the DAAC have looked at
several recent surveys of both Wyoming in general and Goshen County,
all of which indicate local schools are having problems with drugs. A
2008 survey conducted among parents, students and teachers in Goshen
County found that all three groups ranked drugs as either their number
one or number two concern at school.

English said 600 students were surveyed around the county, and that
not only did they rank drugs as the number one concern, but written
comments with the survey papers also expressed concerns about the
prevalence of drugs.

The 2007 Youth Risk Behavior Survey found that among Wyoming students,
43 percent of 12th graders said they used marijuana one or more times
during their life and 17 percent of 11th graders said they had used
marijuana one or more times during the last 30 days. Between 8 and 10
percent of high school students said they had used cocaine one or more
times during their lives and between 22 and 28 percent said they had
been offered, sold or given an illegal drug on school grounds in the
past year.

By far the highest statistic was alcohol use. Between 72 and 83
percent of high school students said they had a drink of alcohol more
in their lives and between 39 and 48 percent said they had a drink of
alcohol in the past 30 days.

English said the board and administration held a work session to
discuss concerns gathered from the student, staff, parent and
community surveys. The DAAC looked at several ways to combat drug use
in Goshen County schools. Drug testing was one method that was suggested.

At the Tuesday board meeting, the board instructed the DAAC to look
into similar testing policies at schools in Wyoming and the Nebraska
Panhandle to see what those schools have chosen to implement.

English said he has examined drug testing policies in Gillette,
Scottsbluff, Neb., Chadron, Neb., and Bridgeport, Neb. Among these
schools, he said, the policies were very similar. Students who want to
participate in activities must enter into the random drug testing
pool. The differences, he said, are often in what activities are
included in the policy.

While only testing students that are participating in activities may
leave out a portion of the student body, English said there is a
preconceived notion that the youth who are involved in activities are
the ones less likely to be using drugs in the first place.

"We hope that's true, but whether they do or do not they still have
the peer pressure to start," English said.

However, he said, youth that are involved in activities are often the
social leaders of the school, and having them drug-free sends a signal
to the rest of the students. In addition, students who are offered
drugs might decline because they want to participate in an activity.

"One of the most beneficial things that I see coming out of this is
that it gives them a reason to say no," English said.

Drug testing, he said, would also identify youth who have only just
begun using drugs as well as those with serious substance abuse
problems. Identifying drug use just by behavior can be difficult since
youth often go to great lengths to hide it.

Most schools have policies have procedures in place for when testing
comes back with a positive result. Most include punitive measures such
as disallowing the student to participate in the activity as well as
other measures such as counseling and treatment.

Drug testing policies have met with resistance in many communities.
National organizations such as the American Civil Liberties Union have
challenged them in court, saying the policies violate fourth amendment
rights against unreasonable search and seizure.

The United States Supreme Court has ruled in several cases that drug
testing for student activities is not an invasion of privacy. Since
1985, the court has ruled that students give up some privacy rights
when attending schools because the school is made responsible for
their discipline, health and safety. In 2002, the court ruled that
athletes and students involved in other extracurricular activities did
not have a greater expectation of privacy. Since the testing, if
conducted under confidentiality, is not a significant intrusion and
since most drug testing policies do not involve criminal prosecution
for positive results, drug testing does not constitute an invasion of
privacy.

However, the Washington State Supreme Court struck down a drug testing
policy in March of this year, citing that a search without suspicion
violated the state constitution, which provided a broader protection
of privacy than the federal constitution.

The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy favors testing
of students. John Waters, director of the ONDCP, said in a letter
accompanying the office's report on the subject that to focus on
concerns over privacy ignore the effectiveness of testing.

"Testing has been shown to be extremely effective at reducing drug use
in schools and businesses all over the country," Waters wrote. "As a
deterrent, few methods work better or deliver clearer results. Drug
testing of airline pilots and school bus drivers, for example, has
made our skies and roads safer for travel."

For now, a random drug testing policy in Goshen County is a long way
off. English said the board and administration would likely discuss
many different aspects of the policy as well as soliciting community
input before implementing anything. The board would also look at how a
testing policy might affect other anti-drug and alcohol efforts such
as the Step Up youth coalition, and if faculty and staff should also
be required to undergo drug testing.

"It's pretty wide open right now," English said. "I think it will be a
very slow process."