DRUG TESTING FLOATED FOR R-7

Superintendent Says Policy Would Follow Other Schools

WEBB CITY, Mo. - The Webb City R-7 School District is considering whether
to join a growing list of area districts in testing some students for
illegal drugs.

The school board will hear Tuesday night from Randy Richardson, the
district's activities director, as well as staff, students and parents
about whether random drug testing should be introduced for high school
students participating in extracurricular activities.

The board meeting is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. at the Administration
Building, 411 N. Madison Ave.

Webb City currently does not have a drug-testing program. The district has
avoided implementing testing, in part, because administrators did not want
to single out students, said Superintendent Ron Lankford.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 in June 2002 that random drug-testing
programs, previously restricted to athletes, can be expanded to include all
students participating in extracurricular activities and some classes.

"To me that makes it more suitable," Lankford said. "It shouldn't be just
athletes and band members if it is meant to be a deterrent."

But Lankford says he still has reservations.

"I kind of hate to have to be in a situation where kids have to prove they
are innocent," Lankford said.

The district is not reacting to an increase of drug abuse or drug-related
suspensions among its students, Lankford said. High-school coaches and
counselors asked administrators to consider adopting a drug-testing policy,
he said.

"We are not reacting to a situation," Lankford said. "We are following the
lead of other schools."

Among the benefits of random testing, said Eric Johnson, boy's basketball
coach, is it gives students an easy excuse to say "No."

"I think the majority of coaches and the heads of the other activities
support it," Johnson said. "We feel it would be a positive for our
district. We just want to make sure it is done correctly."

The push for random drug testing in other districts has drawn criticism
that the tests violate student privacy.

The Carthage R-9 School District implemented drug testing at the start of
the 2003-2004 school year. Carthage's policy makes junior-high and
high-school students who participate in athletics, band, choir and speech,
and programs such as FFA, math and science competition groups subject to
testing.

Students in noncompetitive programs such as the chess, fishing, movie and
foreign-language clubs, and national honor societies are also subject to
random testing in Carthage. Other students may participate by submitting a
consent form.

Other area districts with drug-testing programs include Carl Junction and
Columbus, Kan.