R-8 MULLS EXPANDED DRUG TESTS

Consent would be required before student participates

Students participating in athletics and other activities at Joplin High
School would be required to consent to random drug testing if the Joplin R-8
Board of Education grants its approval.

Doug Doss, athletic director, is asking the board to expand the drug-testing
program that Joplin adopted about 20 years ago. Currently, parents of
students involved in sports may voluntarily sign up their children to be
tested.

The new program would include students in band, choir, math league, drama
and other activities. Freshmen participating in activities would be
obligated to submit a consent form before participating. Sophomores, juniors
and seniors would have to turn in the form at the beginning of the school
year.

About 15 to 20 students would be tested each week. A student would be
suspended from competition for 90 days after the first positive test and for
180 days after the second positive test. The penalties could be halved if
the student participated in counseling.

The program would cost the district about $20,000 a year, Doss said.

Megan Moore, a standout runner for Joplin High School's track team, said she
wouldn't object to the plan.

"I'm all for it," said Moore, 17, a junior. "I think it would be a good
thing, especially if all the other schools in the area are doing it."

About 350 students participate in the current program. Doss said parents are
notified if a student tests positive, but the school does not take
disciplinary action. Under the current program, five students are tested
each week after being selected at random by a school nurse drawing names
from a box.

Matt Houston, 18, a senior, participates in football and track, and the
drug-testing program.

"It doesn't bother me any," Houston said. "I don't know why they don't do it
already. I think if there is any doubt or probable cause from a coach, they
should be able to do it."

The new program would not include testing for steroids. Doss said the
vendors that provide the testing currently do not provide that service.

Former board member Kim Woodard served on a committee that developed the
proposal.

"The whole idea would be for there to be a consequence for your actions,"
Woodard said at a board meeting last month.

Doss said that despite the penalties, preventing drug use is a major reason
why the school should adopt the new policy.

"We are not here to catch kids," he said. "We are here to give them a reason
to say 'no.'"

Tim Spiers, recently named head boys basketball coach, said coaches exercise
a lot of influence, and testing would help them encourage students to avoid
bad choices.

"I think it is a good idea," Spiers said. "I think it is our job as
educators and coaches to try to help kids, and I think this is a way to do
it. If we can keep kids from making a destructive decision, then I'm all for
it."

Joplin is surrounded by school districts that have adopted similar policies
in the past few years.

The Diamond R-4 Board of Education approved a policy earlier this month that
will require students participating in extracurricular activities to undergo
testing throughout the year.

Diamond High School Principal Jim Cummins said residents, parents and
teachers thought the district needed to provide additional deterrents
against drug use.

The Joplin board discussed the issue during a work session Monday night. The
board is expected to vote on the matter on May 10.