PARENTS TO ATTEND DRUG SEMINARS

SOUTHLAKE, Texas - A North Texas school district will require parents to
attend hour long seminars about teen substance abuse in order for their
children to play sports or participate in other extracurricular activities.

The policy starts next school year at the Carroll Independent School
District and will affect the parents of students in grades seven through 12.

The classes will address substance-abuse trends, warning signs, prevention
and district drug policies.

"Our kids know that drugs and alcohol are dangerous, but they make choices
to use them anyway," Carroll Senior High School principal Danny Presley
said. "It's the parents we've got to educate. There has to be
accountability on all fronts."

A survey of parents last fall found that 80 percent believed their children
didn't drink beer, wine or liquor, while 95 percent thought their children
didn't use marijuana. A survey of students, however, indicated that 68
percent of juniors and 77 percent of seniors drank alcohol, while a third
of juniors had tried marijuana, officials said.

Texas Education Agency and Texas Association of School Boards officials
said they were unaware of a similar policy at any other Texas school district.

Frank Colosi, a spokesman for Fort Worth chapter of the American Civil
Liberties Union said the plan didn't make sense because students in
extracurricular activities are less prone to drug use.

"Doing anything that would discourage students from taking part in
extracurriculars is perverse," he said.