LOCAL HIGH-SCHOOL DRUG TESTING PROMPTS MIXED REACTIONS

Drug and alcohol testing may be coming soon to Alexander High School, but
it already has been a way of life at the Nelsonville-York City School
District for the last two years.

The Alexander Local School Board is expected to vote at its meeting next
month on a new policy to test Alexander High School students for drugs,
alcohol and tobacco.

Dave Kasler, president of the Alexander Local School Board, said Wednesday
that students in athletics and all students who drive to school will be
subjected to mandatory and random testing if the policy is approved.

A committee made up of community members, administrators, Athens County
Sheriff's Office DARE officer Jimmy Childs, teachers and parents came up
with the drug-testing policy, according to Kasler. The committee looked at
drug-testing policies already in place at Nelsonville-York, Meigs and
Wellston high schools, along with a sample policy supplied by the Ohio
School Boards Association, Kasler said.

"We took bits and pieces from the other policies," he said. The policy is
not intended to punish students who use alcohol, drugs or tobacco, Kasler
stressed.

"Our real goal is prevention and counseling," he said. Students will be
punished after multiple violations, while also receiving counseling, he
explained.

"What we've been told from the districts that we have spoken to is that
(student drug testing) does make a big difference," Kasler said.

Alexander Supt. Bob Bray said last week that while he expects the drug- and
alcohol-testing program to be controversial, the school district has good
reasons for the testing. If the policy is approved, he added, student
athletes will be tested because they represent the school and because the
district does not want them to be hurt while they're involved in practices
or games while under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

The district considers it a privilege to drive to school, so all of the
students who do so would be subjected to testing, Bray said. He added that
district officials want students to be sober and drug-free if they are
driving to school.

Megan Moseley, who will be president of the Alexander High School Student
Council during the 2005-2006 school year, said that many students support
the drug testing, but many oppose it, too.

"That's a really bold decision that they are making," Moseley said. She
thinks the drug testing policy is a good idea for student-athletes, because
athletics are related to the school.

"They have every right to do that," Moseley said, adding that she plays
softball.

As for drug testing for students who drive to school, Moseley said she
doesn't think that's such a good idea. The school is a public school and
students should be able to park without being subject to drug testing,
Moseley said.

"I haven't heard one good thing about the parking situation," she added.

While drugs and alcohol are not a big problem at Alexander, they are
present at the school just as they are at every school, according to
Moseley. "I don't think it's different from any other school," she said.

Moseley had heard about drug testing at Nelsonville-York High School and
said she "saw it coming" that Alexander would soon start testing its athletes.

The Athens City School District does not have a drug-testing policy, and
school Supt. Carl Martin said Wednesday that the school board members have
not discussed implementing a policy.

According to an article in The Christian Science Monitor, the U.S. Supreme
Court in 2002 upheld a public school's right to drug test students in
extracurricular activities. Supporters of student drug testing say it's an
effective way to keep high-school students off drugs and fight the nation's
drug problem.

Opponents of drug testing, though, argue that the tests have not been
proven to reduce drug use and that they violate students' privacy rights.

Opponents also argue that the testing calls for searching the students
without probable cause and undermines the teacher-student relationship that
can often guide students away from drugs and alcohol.

Gary Daniels, litigation coordinator for the American Civil Liberties Union
(ACLU) of Ohio, said Wednesday that the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that
schools can get away with drug testing of students under certain
circumstances, such as for student in athletics or extra-curricular activities.

"The ACLU... does not agree with that analysis of the Fourth Amendment and
students' rights," Daniels said. "We think it totally turns on its head the
time-honored American legal tradition of being innocent until proven guilty."

Americans would not want adults to be subjected to random drug testing, but
for some reason they think it's perfectly acceptable to test high-school
students, Daniels said.

"The most effective way (to fight the drug testing) is for students and
parents to register objections with the school board," Daniels said. He
added that student drug testing is a bad idea for several reasons and that
hopefully students and parents will register their objections to the new
policy.

AT NELSONVILLE-YORK High School, drug, alcohol and tobacco testing has been
a weekly routine for the last two years.

"We just completed the second year. The kids are pretty much in line," said
Principal Mick McClelland. The Nelsonville-York Middle School also performs
drug testing, he added.

"I honestly believe it has changed some kids' lives," McClelland said. "And
if it only changes one, it is worth it."

During the 2004-2005 school year, Nelsonville-York High School performed
520 random drug tests, McClelland said. Of those tests, 24 were positive,
he confirmed.

All students in sports, band and choir are tested, McClelland said. Once
students' names are on the list once for sports, band or choir, they are
always on the list for drug testing even if they are no longer involved in
the activities, he said. Parents can have their children's names taken off
the list, however, if they are no longer involved in the activities,
McClelland said. Parents also can have their children's names added to the
drug-testing list if they wish, even if the children are not in sports,
band or choir.

At the beginning of every sports season, every athlete involved with the
sport is tested, McClelland said. And during the first week of school,
every student in band and choir is tested.

After the initial tests, the drug-testing company, which is based in
Columbus, selects names randomly, and those students are pulled out of
class for the urine tests, McClelland said. He usually tests between 12 and
18 students each week, and no one knows who will be tested until McClelland
gets the list of names. The samples are always split in half in case there
is a question about the testing, he added.

Students could get tested two weeks in a row, and during the first year,
one students was chosen randomly for testing five out of the first six
weeks, McClelland said.

The first time a student is found positive, the drug-testing company
notifies the student's parents and McClelland. The students then have to
enter a counseling program (even if it's for only one session, as decided
by the counselor), and the student is subjected to mandatory testing the
next three weeks, according to McClelland.

The second time a student is found positive, the student has to receive
more counseling and drug tests, and the student is suspended from sports,
band or choir for four weeks.

"Now the teacher or the coach knows about it," McClelland said. If the
student is in band or choir, the student's grade is not affected. The
students can take part in the sports, band and choir practices, but cannot
take part in games or performances during the suspensions.

After the third positive, the students are suspended from sports, band or
choir for a full calendar year, and after a fourth positive the students
are banned from sports, band or choir for the entire time they are students
at Nelsonville-York High School, McClelland said.

"I've had students hit every level," McClelland confirmed. Marijuana has
been the main drug found in the testing so far, although some prescription
medications that were not prescribed to the students were also found in the
testing, he said. The testing looks for drugs, alcohol and tobacco, he added.

"I can guarantee you that it has changed some of the kids here," he said.

Several students used to do rub (a type of chewing tobacco), but thanks to
the drug testing the students stopped, McClelland said. He added that he
has heard from some families who told him they like the drug testing.

"It's a good program," he said.

Jordan Bateman, president of the Nelsonville-York High School Student
Council, said she believes the drug testing has made a difference at the
school.

Drugs and alcohol were not a big problem with students in sports, band and
choir, she said, but the testing has cut down on the students in these
activities who do drugs or alcohol. She is an athlete and she does not mind
being tested, she said.

The only problem Bateman sees with the testing is that it does not go far
enough. She would like to see testing for students besides just those in
sports, band and choir.