LOCAL SCHOOL BOARD SET TO VOTE ON DRUG CHECKS FOR THOSE IN EXTRA-CURRICULAR
EVENTS

The committee that developed and proposed a drug testing policy to Enid
Public Schools administrators and board members focused on the perception
of drug use and abuse among the nation's teens.

"We weren't focusing just on Enid," said David Meara, school board
president and committee member. "Anybody that pays attention to the studies
admits there is quite a bit of drug and alcohol use in high schools
starting as early as seventh grade."

Meara said the committee commissioned to study the details related to drug
testing didn't really focus much attention on what particularly was
happening in the community, rather the various degrees of use and abuse all
around the country.

"We're all looking for ways to help young people stay away from drugs and
alcohol," Meara said.

The board is expected to vote on the policy during a 7 p.m. Monday board
meeting at Hayes Elementary School. Board members approved the initial
reading of the policy and consent form May 2.

The proposal still was under legal review by attorneys last week, and
Superintendent Kem Keithly said there were some parts that would require
rewording.

He said the board first began talking about the idea of drug testing during
study sessions two years ago. Keithly said there are a "few, not many"
violations of the school's drug policy during the course of a year.
Testing, however, will provide more accountability to eighth- through
12th-graders participating in extracurricular activities.

"We have been struggling with how do you help young people stay off drugs,"
Meara said. "There has been a lot of research lately showing the particular
damage drug use does to young people. The younger they start, the more
problems they develop. Drugs have a much higher affect on young people."

The proposed policy governs tobacco, alcohol, illegal and
performance-enhancing drug use by pupils participating in extracurricular
activities governed by Oklahoma Sec-ondary School Activities Association.

The new proposal also allows the district to randomly test those same
students any time they are suspected of using illegal substances, including
performance-enhancing drugs.

Students and parents would be required to sign a consent form allowing the
district to conduct the drug test. Prior to drug testing each year, an
orientation session will be held with each student involved in activities
to educate them to the sample collection process, privacy arrangements and
drug testing procedures.

According to the proposed policy, parents and students would be notified of
an initial positive finding. That finding would be verified, and parents
and students would be contacted to determine if there are any mitigating
circumstances for the finding.

The initial round of testing would be paid for through a $25,000 grant from
Champlin Founda-tion. A number of model policies were reviewed and studied
by the committee. By law, only students participating in extra-curricular
activities can be tested.

Supreme Court ruled students participating in extracurricular activities
may be tested for drug use after a Tecumseh student in the school's choir
battled Tecumseh Board of Education all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Former Tecumseh student Lindsay Earls, her sister and another student,
fought the board because they said it violated their first amendment rights
and on the basis that students participating in choir, academic team and
other non-athletic activities did not pose a danger to other students if
under the influence of drugs.

The Supreme Court ruled in the school's favor in 2002.