CALL FOR DRUG TESTS GETS COOL REPLY

Most Central Florida school districts responded coolly Thursday to a
White House push to test more students for drug use, but Orange
County officials said they may soon start screening teens in
after-school programs.

Mary Ann Solberg, deputy director of the White House Office of
National Drug Control Policy, urged districts to randomly screen
youths for illegal drugs.

Drug screens deter and catch new users before they become addicts,
Solberg said, speaking before district officials at an anti-drug
summit at Orlando's Rosen Centre Hotel.

"Any drug use affects test scores," she said. "The goal is to create
bright, healthy kids."

She stressed that the federal government does not mandate the tests.
Rather, drug screens should be voluntary, confidential and
non-punitive -- a pillar in districts' comprehensive anti-drug
policies, she said.

"When I hear 'war on drugs,' I laugh," she said after her address.
"It's not a war. It's a public-health issue."

About 10 percent of 12th-graders nationally report using marijuana in
the past 30 days. State figures show that about 10 percent of middle-
and high-school students use the drug.

Solberg's visit stems from President Bush's 2004 State of the Union
address, during which he promised funds to crack down on drug use.
The plan included student testing.

Since then, Solberg's office has toured the country to promote the
plan and has dispensed more than $9.2 million to help schools set up
drug-testing programs. Other federal and state funds are available as
well, Solberg added.

Florida's reaction has been measured. State figures show that only 11
of Florida's 67 districts conduct drug tests.

District officials say interest in the matter increased after recent
high-profile reports of steroid use among professional athletes. But
among many pressures on schools, including rigorous academic tests
and tight budgets, drug screening ranks low on their agendas.

"There's no doubt in my mind drugs and alcohol are a huge problem,"
said John Edwards, Orange County's associate superintendent of
curriculum and student services. "But how do we do this kind of
thing? Who's going to pay for it?"

A proposal to test Orange high-school students in athletics and
extracurricular activities will go before the School Board in the
next few months, officials said Thursday.

Details are still being worked out, but the district could test for
both drugs and alcohol. The district has resisted the idea in the past.

Polk began testing athletes in its 15 high schools in 2004 with a
$230,000 annual grant.