HEALEY PUSHES SCHOOLS FOR TEENS IN DRUG RECOVERY

Facing a surge in high school drug addiction, Lt. Gov. Kerry Healey
yesterday proposed drug tests for students and special schools in Boston
and Springfield where recovering teens can complete school in a drug-free
environment.

The plan was part of a broader push Healey announced at the State House
yesterday that includes tougher criminal penalties for making crystal meth,
$9.1 million in aid for teen substance-abuse treatment programs, and a call
for high school drug testing with parental permission.

The "recovery school" is based on a model used in Minnesota that had
success in graduating high school students returning from drug treatment
programs, Healey spokeswoman Laura Nicholl said.

Nicholl said that for recovering teens, a return to school can mean a
return to old habits. At the recovery school - similar to a charter school
model - students leaving treatment can complete school in a supportive
environment.

"Maybe they avoid peer pressure or their drug dealer is in school," Nicholl
said.

She said it is difficult for schools to retain students once they leave a
treatment center, an obstacle the special Minnesota schools have overcome
with 95 percent of recovering teens graduating.

School leaders on hand at Healey's announcement also applauded her call for
voluntary drug testing at the high school level.

"Her efforts to implement pilot programs for voluntary drug testing is
another intervention tool parents can use to keep their kids off drugs and
also helps kids that are addicted get better," Salem Superintendent Herb
Levine said.

To coordinate the proposals, as well as the $250 million the state spends
annually through 13 agencies aimed at drug abuse treatment, Healey is
creating Interagency Council on Substance Abuse and Prevention, which she
will chair.

The council's goal is to better share information between treatment
organizations.