BILL WOULD FUND SCHOOL DRUG TESTS

WASHINGTON -- President Bush's call last week for $25 million for drug
testing in public schools has led to legislation. Three House members
introduced a bill to fund random student drug testing. The money would
be in the form of grants to schools that want to fashion a program
under guidelines of the legislation.

An Oklahoma school district was at the forefront of the drug testing
debate two years ago, when the Supreme Court ruled schools could
impose mandatory testing for students in extracurricular activities.
Before the Tecumseh case decision, the court had held that schools
could test football players.

The court has not sanctioned mandatory testing for an entire student
body, and the legislation introduced last week establishes a program
that allows parents to withdraw their children from participation.

Rep. John Peterson, R-Pa., said the bill would prohibit the disclosure
of tests to law enforcement and require the results be kept
confidential and destroyed when the student graduates or leaves school.