PISD HOLDS FORUM TO DISCUSS STUDENT DRUG TESTING POLICY

As a means of gathering public input on a drug testing policy being
developed by the district, Palestine Independent School District Board of
Trustees and administrators held a community forum Thursday.

Very few parents attended the event, but the forum did allow district
employees and local drug testing experts to discuss the issue at length
with trustees.

Assistant Superintendent Suzie Eiben discussed a few details of the
still-developing policy with attendees, stating that the testing is being
considered for students in the sixth through 12th grades who are involved
in any extracurricular activity and who drive to and park a car on campus.

The two main aspects of the policy discussed at the forum were that of
consequences and the percentage and frequency of students being tested in
the random screenings.

Eiben, who has been working with a policy expert at the Texas Association
of School Boards, proposed a "three strike" disciplinary action scale.

"Upon the first offense, the student would be suspended from
extracurricular activities until being retested at the next screening
time," Eiben explained. "The second offense prompted suspension from
outside activities for an entire calendar year."

The third offense called for suspension from those activities for the
remainder of the student's time on that campus.

Board president Dana Staples disagreed with that proposal, stating that
taking away the student's privileges while on that campus was detrimental
to a student's self-esteem.

"It seems that being suspended for a certain period of time would be better
than keeping the student from participating in activities permanently," she
said.

Most trustees were more agreeable with PISD Athletic Director Glen
Tunstall's suggested consequences - being suspended for 30 days on the
first offense and for a calendar year on the second offense.

"Then the students would need to be clean for a certain time period before
being reinstated," he said.

In discussion of the randomness of student testing, trustee Mark Calhoon
was concerned that some students involved in extracurricular activities
might not ever be tested in a given school year.

"I think we should state that students could be tested at random or as a
body," he said. "Or have a large initial testing and a high percentage on
subsequent testings - something to ensure all students are tested at least
once during the year."

Having first proposed approval of the policy at the board's upcoming
regular meeting next week, Eiben said that more work needed to be done on
the policy before it is brought before the board.

"The board will certainly continue discussion of the policy at the next
meeting," Staples said.

PISD trustees and administration began discussion of the issue at their
July meeting, hearing recommendations from three local drug testing groups.

The district currently has no student drug testing policy.