LAWSUIT TAKES ON SCHOOL DRUG TESTS

After more than six years, a lawsuit challenging Wahkiakum School
District's policy of conducting random drug tests of student
athletes will finally get its day in court this week.

The controversy began in 1999 when Wahkiakum school officials began
testing middle- and high-school athletes in an effort to curb drug
use, which school officials said was reaching epidemic levels.

Parents of two student athletes objected to the tests, which were
required for participation in school sports. The parents,
represented by the American Civil Liberties Union, sued to ban the tests.

Hans and Katherine York and Paul and Sharon Schneider, all of
Cathlamet, and the ACLU argue that the testing is unconstitutional
because it's administered without suspicion of wrongdoing.

The school district, represented by Wahkiakum County Prosecutor Fred
Johnson, contends that a compelling interest in reducing drug use
overrides any invasion of privacy.

Both parties have requested a summary judgment. The civil rights
group and the school district will present oral arguments in
Wahkiakum County's Superior Court at 10 a.m. Thursday, and a final
decision will be made sometime thereafter.

The summary judgment motion may truncate a lengthy trial, Johnson
said. "Everyone is saying there aren't any factual disputes, just
legal disputes," he said last week.

This will be the first court decision in Washington regarding school
drug testing, and the ultimate decision may decide how aggressively
schools statewide can test for drugs.

"It's good that we're moving along," Johnson said. "I think this is
an issue that needs to be resolved, and that's why the Wahkiakum
School District, though it's not the largest district in the state
by far, is pursing this. ... It's an issue of significance to the
schools and students in the state of Washington."

The lawsuit has taken a roundabout path to trial. Although the
district has halted testing pending a trial, the ACLU carried the
issue to the Court of Appeals after a judge refused to issue an
injunction against the tests.

A 2002 appeals court decision, which on the one hand said the issue
was moot and on the other hand agreed with the school district,
allowed the lawsuit to go forward in Superior Court.