CATAWBA PONDERS STUDENT DRUG TEST

County Schools Battle Teen Use

The Catawba County school system is considering testing students for drugs,
but officials have many questions about how it would be done and which
students would be tested.

If implemented, the county schools would join two systems in the region
that test students: Hickory and Newton-Conover, which test student athletes.

School board member Sherry Butler said testing gives students a tool to
resist drug use. "They can say 'No, I'm playing team sports,' " she said.

Drug-testing is an issue with local and national interest since President
Bush, in his State of the Union address last month, called on Congress to
expand funding for school drug testing from $2 million to $23 million.

Catawba's interest comes from a countywide drug forum last fall, when
participants learned about teen drug use in the county.

According to a survey by the Council on Adolescents, about 21 percent of
students in Catawba County as young as 13 have smoked marijuana at least
once; 25 percent of 10th-graders reported taking part in binge drinking;
and 87 percent of high school seniors said they had consumed alcohol at
some time.

To start a drug-testing program, Catawba County would have to follow
guidelines set by the U.S. Supreme Court in a 2002 decision that approved
random drug testing of athletes, officials said.

School board members who listened to the plans last week said they have
many questions they want resolved before moving forward, including:

. Should the policy be for athletes only or everyone who participates in
extracurricular activities?

. Should teachers, as role models, be tested?

. What drugs would the tests check for? Marijuana? Steroids? Alcohol?

School board member Mark Sigmon said testing will be a lot of work for the
schools and could cause problems for educators. "I'm not 100 percent
convinced," he said, adding that the school system's emphasis should be on
education.

Guidelines for student drug testing have been published by the federal
Office of National Drug Control Policy, said Pat Hensley, Catawba County
Schools assistant superintendent of human resources.

Hickory Public Schools was among the first in the area to add drug testing
in 1999, spokeswoman Jean Yoder said. The testing is performed by a private
company that uses Social Security numbers to randomly select students.

Students in grades nine through 12 who participate in school-sponsored
athletic programs are required to sign up for participation in random drug
and alcohol tests, Yoder said.

Students who test positive are ineligible to participate in games or
practice for a week and are required to attend a mandatory drug education
program that will provide an assessment for further treatment.

A second violation means students are ineligible for athletic programs for
a year, including practice, and are required to participate in, at minimum,
a 16-week drug education program.

For a third violation, students are expelled from sports programs for the
remainder of their high school career.

Teachers do not face testing, but anyone who drives a bus or a school
system vehicle is subject to testing.

Newton-Conover's program is similar. Students who test positive are
suspended from athletics for two weeks, are required to attend counseling
and are reinstated if the parents and students are cooperative, spokeswoman
Kirsten Bowden said.

A second offense merits a one-year suspension from athletics, and a third
offense is a permanent expulsion from athletics.

Those who drive school vehicles also are tested, Bowden said.

Despite the potential complexity of testing, Hensley said, she felt it
would be worthwhile. After further study, she will bring a proposal back to
the school board.

"We've just got too many kids who are drug affected," Hensley said. "Too many."