DISTRICT TO DISCUSS DRUG DOG POLICY

The Longview School District still is sniffing out a policy for using
contraband-detecting canines. The search may end soon.

At its Jan. 10 meeting, the school board is expected to consider a
policy for using the dogs, which search for alcohol, drugs and
firearms. The board also may discuss the hiring of a private company
that provides the animals.

In September, the board asked a committee to write a policy addressing
how and where the dogs would be used, such as sniffing lockers,
hallways, unoccupied classrooms and parking lots.

Representatives from the 15-member committee, made up of
administrators, school employees, board members, parents and a
student, will present the proposed policy to the school board on Jan.
10.

"I think the board will appreciate their work," said Mark Rosin,
deputy superintendent.

In the past, the district has shied away from employing drug-sniffing
dogs, fearing their use would violate constitutional rights to privacy.

Last spring, the district reopened the issue after a presentation from
Interquest Detection Canines, a private Los Angeles-based company that
provides the contraband-detecting dogs.

A representative from the company told the board that using a private
company, rather than law enforcement-provided dogs, helps avoid legal
pitfalls.

The hang-up with using a law enforcement dog, according to the
company, is that police can't open a student locker without probable
cause and a search warrant, even if the dog "alerts."

State law, however, allows school administrators to search lockers or
backpacks if they suspect they will find drugs. A private contraband
canine company, if employed by the district, works under the same
"reasonable suspicion" guideline.

Over the summer, the board gathered comments from the community on the
issue. The overwhelming majority of those comments supported using the
animals.

Dogs are not allowed to sniff people, according to state law. A
full-day, monthly visit to the middle and high schools would cost
$10,000 a year, according to the district.