BISD WILL DRUG TEST AT RANDOM

CLUTE -- Beginning this school year, Brazosport ISD will become the
next school district in Brazoria County to randomly drug test high
school students after the measure gained school board approval.

The policy passed with a 5-1 vote during Tuesday's board meeting.
Trustee Joel Welch cast the lone dissenting vote. Trustee Bobby Sharp
was absent.

The vote followed a nearly hour-long public forum mostly from the
potential contractor, Pinnacle Manage-ment, speaking about testing
procedures, cost and privacy concerns. Only three people addressed the
board.

Students with driving permits and those who compete in extracurricular
activities, which totals between 80 and 85 percent of the districtA's
high school population, would be randomly tested.

But parents of students who donA't fall into those categories can
request their student be included in the testing pool. Students, and
their legal guardians, must give written consent to get a parking
permit or participate in extracurricular activities.

Parent Rhonda Zirlott said a random drug testing program would have
helped her son. It also would educate and force parents out of denial,
she said.

A"I think anytime we can have a tool in place to help make it easier,
it helps us make our efforts more effective,A" Zirlott said.

Ruth Ann Few, president of the Brazosport Federation of Teachers and
Support Personnel, also applauded the school boardA's efforts to stem
drug use. However, she suggested targeting drinking at prom and other
special dances, which been a problem in the past. She also proposed
creating an advisory committee of teachers, students and trustees to
evaluate the program quarterly.

However, some people have criticized the proposal for singling out
involved students, but thatA's the legal standard set by the Supreme
Court, said Harvey Graves, president and CEO of Pinnacle Medical
Management Co.

The district should not test the legal waters to screen all students,
Harvey said. If it did, the district would get sued, he said.

A"ThatA's why the school board is stuck in this predicament about who
we can test and who we canA't test,A" Graves said.

Parent Denise Watson criticized the policy because of its flaws and
potential for abuse, she said, while Trustee Joel Welch questioned the
programA's effectiveness and whether drug abuse would continue with
the policy.

A"In fact, right now, itA's supposedly very high and thatA's why
weA're doing it out here,A" Welch said.

Pinnacle, which handles drug screenings for more than 50 school
districts, has watched the percentage of positive results shrink,
Graves said. Most districts start with a 3 to 5 percent positive rate,
but they drop, sometimes as low as zero, he said.

The district will have minimal involvement in the collection and
notification process, Graves said. Pinnacle will pick names at random,
and they will contact either the liaison or the back-up to get
students for the testing.

Pinnacle will collect the samples and test them at its federally
certified laboratory. Two samples will be taken, so if a parent
objects to results, the second can be sent to another federally
certified lab, Graves said.

Results will not be shared with law enforcement, he said.

A district committee now will determine which drugs to screen
for.

The policy calls for the testing of alcohol and drugs such as
amphetamines, methamphetamine, Valium, marijuana, cocaine, Ecstasy,
LSD, nicotine and opiates such as heroin and morphine. The policy also
includes anabolic steroid testing, but Graves said that can be
prohibitively expensive.

The committee will budget how many of the specialized drug tests it
can afford. Students, however, will not know what drugs they will be
screened for during testing.

For a first offense, the student will be suspended for 15 school days
from practices or performances or driving privileges.

The student also will be required to undergo counseling.

A second offense will get a student a 30-day suspension from driving
privileges or extracurricular activity participation.

A third offense will merit suspension for one calendar year.

If a student refuses to undergo testing, it will be considered a
positive result.

Alvin ISD has a similar random drug testing policy. It began earlier
this year.