EDGEWOOD CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT

Board OKs Random Drug Testing Of Students

TRENTON - Edgewood board members took the final step toward
implementing random student drug testing Oct. 1 to the praise of one
parent - and the chagrin of another.

With only a handful of district residents in the audience, the Board
of Education unanimously approved the policy and regulations behind
an Aug. 27 decision to begin a grant-funded random student drug
testing program for high school students who participate in
extracurricular activities or park on school grounds.

Wearing an Edgewood football T-shirt, parent Chris Boggs thanked the
board for its decision to begin a drug testing program as part of
the district's comprehensive drug and alcohol prevention program.

But parent and board candidate Karen McIntyre criticized the
district's communication with parents regarding the policy.

"The school needs to talk to the parents," McIntyre said, adding
that she was upset to learn about the plan to begin random drug
testing from an article in The Journal.

The program, which will be administered by Edgewood High School
Assistant Principal Jeff Dennis, will test about 12 to 15 students
each month, according to York. If a test comes back positive for
drug use, parents will be notified by Mercy Health Professionals
prior to district notification, according to the policy approved by
the board. Parents and students would have 48 hours to provide proof
of a prescription or appeal the results with a negative screen from
an approved medical office.

If a student fails a test, he or she would not face academic
punishment such as a school suspension. The consequences would
include a suspension from activity participation and a reinstatement
process including providing a negative test screen and a session
with a medical professional licensed to deal with drug use.