PROPOSAL TARGETS DRUGS IN SCHOOLS

Lt. Gov. Kerry Healey this week unveiled a drug treatment and prevention
plan that would allow high schools to test students for drugs at a parent's
request and create "sobriety high schools" in Boston and Springfield. The
proposals are part of a $9.1 million anti-drug package that must be
approved by the Legislature.

Under the proposal, each community would have to set up protocol to
determine how often to offer drug testing, whether to keep the results
confidential between the school and child or involve parents and when to
refer a student to counseling, Healey said yesterday in a phone interview.
The voluntary drug-testing program would be implemented at a high school
with approval from the superintendent or mayor and with parental support.
Parents and schools would work together to determine if a student who
tested positive needs counseling or an increase in parental involvement or
both, according to Laura Nicoll, deputy press secretary for Gov. W. Mitt
Romney's office. Students who test positive for drug use would not be
prosecuted, Healey said. "Drug testing should never be used in a punitive
manner," Healey said. "The idea to offer drug testing in schools is to
create a drug-free environment where children can learn and feel safe."

Interested schools would receive $20,000 for testing and $80,000 for
counseling.

The sobriety high schools would each serve up to 100 recovering addicts in
the Boston and Springfield areas.

They would be funded using $800,000 taken from the $250 million the state
already provides 13 agencies for drug abuse services, Nicoll said. Healey's
plan also calls for the expansion of drug detoxification services to reach
an additional 8,000 clients, intensive case management for at-risk youth,
and heftier penalties for those convicted of manufacturing and distributing
methamphetamines.

Philip F. Day, program manager of alcoholism and drug services at Baystate
Medical Center in Springfield, said state funding to help adults and youth
can't come soon enough.

"People are hoping that by intervening early we'll be able to prevent
addiction problems," Day said. "With a lack of resources (in recent years),
it has been difficult to provide a continuum of services."

While he has questions about the drug-testing proposal, Day said he
supports expanding treatment options for adolescents.

Teenagers statewide admitted for drug abuse treatment reported
experimenting with drugs at the average age of 13, according to state
officials. But Sarah R. Wunsch, a staff attorney with the ACLU of
Massachusetts, said that while the drug testing may be touted as
"voluntary," it is only so for parents and not children.

"It could prove destructive to pit parents and school officials against
students," Wunsch said.

While the U.S. Supreme Court allows students in after-school programs to be
randomly tested for drugs, the proposal could violate a child's right under
the state constitution, Wunsch said.

"I think schools are setting themselves up for litigation," she said.
Healey disagreed. "I would be surprised that a student's rights are being
violated by a program that is voluntary," she said.

Shanita Booker, a 15-year-old freshman at the High School of Science and
Technology in Springfield, said the drug-testing proposal could cause more
harm than good within a family.

"I think it should be the kids' choice as to whether they get tested," she
said. Michael Botticelli, head of the state Department of Public Health's
substance abuse programs, said sobriety high schools can be found in such
states as Minnesota. These alternative schools are needed to keep students
clean and sober during a critical time, he said.

Springfield School Committeeman Thomas M. Ashe said he would be interested
in reviewing the state's proposal for the high school. "I think it can be
said there are students (in Springfield) that have dealt with drug
problems. This might help some," he said.