STUDENTS TO TAKE ANOTHER TEST- ONE FOR DRUGS

Students To Take Another Test - One For Drugs For Those Who Play
Sports, Park On Campus In Oconee County

WATKINSVILLE - Oconee County high school students who play sports or
park on campus will face random drug and alcohol testing next school
year, according to a new district policy approved Monday.

The Oconee County Board of Education voted unanimously for the
policy, which board members say will help keep students safe and give
them another reason to say no when pressured to use drugs or alcohol.

After taking a month to consider widening the policy to cover
students who participate in most extracurricular activities -
including even marching band and FFA - board members decided to pass
a narrower policy not much different than the one they first proposed in March.

Under the policy, students at Oconee County and North Oconee high
schools would have to sign a consent form for the testing before
participating in any Georgia High School Association sport and as
part of the parking permit application.

In the future, if district officials determine they're on firm legal
footing to expand the program to students in other activities, they
may amend the regulations and cast a wider net, according to
Superintendent John Jackson.

"The attorney wanted to do more research so we would know exactly
where to draw the line," Jackson said.

Oconee officials modeled their original proposal after policies in
Morgan and Hall counties.

The major difference in the policy passed this week - which officials
say is more about safety than punishment - is that it includes alcohol testing.

Drug testing by public schools in the United States has been a
controversial issue for some students and parents, who have
challenged the policies in court.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2002, in a 5-4 decision, that
subjecting students in extracurricular activities to random drug
screenings doesn't violate their rights.

But, courts have not upheld blanket drug policies in which all
students are tested, Oconee officials have said.

A couple of county residents complained recently to board members
that they could be crossing a line and violating students' right to privacy.

One resident suggested school officials only were paying lip service
to safety in the proposed policy and should do a better job balancing
safety concerns with students' rights.

"If safety is the primary value in Oconee schools, then surely school
employees should submit to random tests to ensure they aren't
endangering their charges through the use of illegal substances,"
Watkinsville resident Perry Parks wrote last month.

However, students who sit on an advisory committee that meets with
Jackson every month said in recent meetings they didn't think the
policy was a bad idea and maybe should cover even more students,
according to minutes of those January and March meetings.

The North Oconee School Council last month also suggested bringing
all students under the policy's umbrella.

Finally, though, the school system's attorney advised board members
to stick with two categories of students - athletes and drivers - for
whom courts have upheld the constitutionality of random drug screening.

Under the policy, a few students would be tested every month.

An outside firm would randomly select students, identified only by
assigned numbers. They would be removed from class - at "the least
disruptive time," according to the regulation - and have to submit a
urine sample to be tested for alcohol, amphetamines, barbiturates,
cocaine, marijuana, methamphetamine, opiates and other painkillers.

First-time violators would have to enroll in drug counseling and sit
out 10 percent of their teams' regular season games - drivers would
lose parking privileges for 10 percent of the school year, or 18 days.

Subsequent violations would bring steeper penalties, and a student
who gets a third positive reading would be suspended for a year from
all interscholastic activities or parking privileges.

A student accused of violating the policy would have 72 hours to
contest the decision to the principal of his or her school, according
to the new regulation.

Suspending a student's participation in activities isn't a discipline
issue, so the principal's decision is final, it says.

The school system likely would contract with Clarke County State
Court Judge Kent Lawrence's drug intervention program for the
testing, at a cost of about $5,700 a year, district officials have said.

Jackson told his student advisory committee he was talking to the
Oconee County sheriff about paying for the program with money seized
in drug raids.

Editor's note: This story was updated to correct the date of the
school board vote.