DRUG TESTS FOR CHESS CLUB? JUDGE SAYS NO

REDDING -- A Northern California high school district's drug testing
of students taking part in competitive, nonathletic activities - such
as the chess club, math team or school band - is an unjustified
invasion of privacy, a judge ruled Wednesday in the first case of its
kind in the state.

The Shasta Union High School District presented no evidence that drug
use was more likely or more dangerous for those students than for
others, said Judge Monica Marlow of Shasta County Superior Court.

She drew a distinction between students in the band or the chess club
and student athletes. The state Supreme Court upheld the NCAA's urine
testing of college athletes in postseason championship events and
bowl games in 1994, saying athletic competitors are accustomed to
being monitored and have little expectation of privacy.

Although drug testing has become both expected and accepted in
sports, particularly at the college and professional level, Marlow
said, "it is not a reasonably expected part of the life of a member
of the choir or math club."

She issued an injunction halting a drug-testing program that the
district, with headquarters in Redding, started last fall. The urine
samples were screened for various illegal drugs as well as
tranquilizers, alcohol and tobacco, said Michael Risher, an American
Civil Liberties Union lawyer representing students who challenged the program.

The injunction does not affect the district's drug testing of
athletes, which began about 10 years ago.

The ACLU said one of its student clients would have been barred from
playing with her flute ensemble at a statewide competition later this
month because she refused to be tested.

Another student, who was raising a hog for a competition as part of a
class project, took a drug test - which was negative - after a school
administrator threatened to remove him from the Future Farmers of
America, the sponsoring group, the ACLU said.

"Students should not be treated like suspects because they want to
play in the school band," Risher said. He said the ruling "respects
student privacy, it respects family privacy, and it teaches students
that rights matter."

John Kelley, a lawyer for the district, said officials would probably
appeal the ruling. Marlow's decision applies only to the Shasta
district, but an appellate decision could set a statewide precedent.

The U.S. Supreme Court upheld drug testing of public school students
in extracurricular activities in 2002, Kelley noted, in a ruling that
recognized such tests as "a permissible step to try to protect the
health, safety and welfare of students."

He said students in choirs, bands and other competitive activities
are more likely than others to travel to off-campus events, some
involving overnight stays, where a school's ability to supervise them
is limited.

"The kids can wander the streets, go to bars, buy drugs, and it's
still the obligation of the district to supervise the students," Kelley said.

Marlow pointed out that the 2002 Supreme Court decision was based on
the U.S. Constitution, which does not have an express guarantee of
privacy. California voters added a right of privacy to the state
Constitution in 1972.