PLAN TO EXPAND SCHOOL DRUG TESTS FAULTED

WASHINGTON - Sixteen-year-old Garrett Dush says he doesn't take drugs
and wouldn't mind being tested for them at school under a program
being championed by President Bush.

But Garrett's father, Cris Dush, is concerned about how his son, a
high school sophomore from Brookville, Pa., or other students would be
selected for testing.

"It'd have to be random," says Cris Dush, who works at a state prison
outside of Brookville, about 80 miles northeast of Pittsburgh. "If the
kid is going to feel targeted ... I wouldn't want that."

The idea of steering America's kids clear of drugs has broad support.
But the $23 million White House plan to increase testing in schools is
drawing sharp criticism from some parents, school administrators and
civil liberties activists.

Bush's plan, unveiled last week in his State of the Union speech,
would expand a $2 million program that last year funded drug testing
in eight school districts. A Supreme Court case in 2002 upheld the
authority of schools to test students who participate in
extracurricular activities, like sports teams.

Federal guidelines under which those students are tested have been
kept deliberately vague to give schools and communities broad
discretion. But Bush and his drug policy director insist test results
be kept confidential.

"The aim here is not to punish children, but to send them this
message: 'We love you, and we don't want to lose you,'" Bush said.

Word can still get out, according to some administrators as well as
critics. That's troubling to civil liberties groups who say children
who need help could end up in jail instead.

"They're saying this is to help, not punish," said Ethan Nadelmann,
executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance in New York, which
fiercely guards against government privacy violations and questions
the effectiveness of drug testing. "But it always starts with that.
And inevitably, the next shoe to drop is: 'We need to punish people in
order to help people.'"

In Nelson County, Ky., all high school athletes in fall sports were
tested for drugs at the beginning of the school year, followed by two
more rounds of tests for randomly selected athletes. This spring,
students involved in other extracurricular activities - like band or
yearbook - also will start random testing, said Karen Johnson, the
school district's director of federal grants.

"It's been accepted very well," Johnson said. The county received
$284,203 from the federal government last year to help pay for drug
testing.

"If students want to play sports, they know they have to be clean,"
she said. "A lot of times, drug use is the result of peer pressure.
But if they have a reason, they can say, 'I can't do that.' It gives
them an out without looking like they're a nerd or something."

Students who test positive are temporarily pulled off their team and
receive counseling from a school adviser, Johnson said. Police are not
called, and students rarely, if ever, risk being suspended or expelled
from school, she said.

Already, Republican lawmakers, led by Rep. John Peterson of
Pennsylvania, are pushing legislation they envision could let school
districts randomly test all students grades 8-12 - not just those in
after-school activities.

For whatever reason, drug use among junior- and senior-high school
students has been on a two-year decline, a recent University of
Michigan study showed.

Less than half of school districts test any students for drugs, said
Paul Houston, executive director of the American Association of School
Administrators. Those that do have scant resources to follow up with
medical intervention.

"We've got school districts who think it's wonderful, and are doing
it, and others who think it's terrible," said Houston, whose
Arlington, Va.-based group represents 14,000 school superintendents
nationwide. "It sort of depends on the local communities, their values."

Privacy concerns are another matter.

In most cases, students who test positive are sent to school
counselors instead of doctors for intervention and treatment, said
Julie Underwood, general counsel for the National School Boards
Association. For the most part, she said, schools "are real good about
student privacy," but word of a positive drug test can still get out.

"Students probably know," Underwood said. "For many school
administrators, it may not be a concern, because part of the total
picture is making sure that students understand the negative
consequences of drug use."

She said it's unlikely that school districts shield all positive drug
tests from the law.

But to Garrett Dush and three other Brookville teens who were in
Washington last week, that doesn't matter much.

"I don't think you have to worry about it if you're not doing it,"
Garrett said. "So it wouldn't be a big deal if any of your friends
found out your test results."

ON THE NET

White House Office of National Drug Control Policy:
http://www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/

American Association of School Administrators: http://www.aasa.org/

National School Board Association: http://www.nsba.org

Drug Policy Alliance: http://www.drugpolicy.org