NATION'S SCHOOLS EYE WIDER DRUG-TESTING

With strong encouragement from the nation's drug czar, public school
officials are taking a closer look at the merits of drug testing for
students in extracurricular activities.

John Walters, director of the White House Office of National Drug Control
Policy, has touted student testing in recent speeches as a "silver bullet"
that can deter youths at risk for taking drugs as well as bring about
treatment for current drug users.

"Two things make the time ripe for what I would call connecting the dots on
this - the increasing knowledge and awareness that science tells us
addiction is a disease . and that we also know we can treat people for it,"
Walters said in an interview. "Screening allows you to identify people who
are suffering from this disease and get them help."

The Bush administration has budgeted $8 million in the current fiscal year
for school drug-testing programs. Walters also has told public school
officials that they can use the Education Department's Safe and Drug-Free
Schools and Communities grant program for testing.

But school board members and administrators are taking a cautious approach,
with some concerned about costs, the testing programs' effectiveness and
other matters. Even districts receptive to testing are trying to be
deliberative.

"We've been slowly plodding our way through this," said Marty VanHulle,
principal at Pewaukee High School in Pewaukee, Wis., a Milwaukee suburb.
"It's one of those topics that doesn't generate many fence-sitters - you're
either for it or against it."

Pewaukee is developing a proposal to test students in the drama club, jazz
band and other activities. The cost - around $30 per student - "is
something that we've taken into account," VanHulle said.

Meanwhile, Walters' critics are mounting a campaign to counter his efforts.
The nonprofit Drug Policy Alliance plans to mail booklets outlining its
opposition to school board presidents around the country, as well as to
superintendents and principals in 17 states where testing has been debated.

"We've started getting calls from parents and teachers and coaches," said
Judy Appel, the alliance's deputy director of legal affairs. "What we've
discovered is there's nothing to back up this idea that drug testing
discourages drug use among students. It runs the risk of placing a wedge
between students and their schools."

Opponents say drug testing is done in only around 5 percent of the nation's
school districts. Walters said his office is trying to determine a precise
figure.

Legal observers say constitutional barriers to suspicionless searches
probably bar random drug testing of entire student bodies, given the
presumption that all American children are entitled to attend public school.

The courts have ruled that public schools can require testing for
participation in athletics and extracurricular activities, given that these
are a privilege and not a right. Some schools also have voluntary testing
programs.

Critics suggest such programs are wrong-headed. Justice Ruth Bader
Ginsburg, in dissenting to a 2002 U.S. Supreme Court decision that upheld
testing students in extracurricular activities, argued that the policy
"targets for testing a student population least likely to be at risk from
illicit drugs."

In the interview, Walters said, "I don't think there's any question that
(comprehensive testing of all students) is preferable."

Pewaukee parents, in a survey, backed testing students in extracurricular
activities by more than 3 to 1, with more than half saying they would
support raising athletic or activity fees by as much as $10 to pay for a
program.

But in nearby Oconomowoc, Wis., school officials recently rejected such
testing after officials said they were unsure it would have much effect.

"Show me the evidence that it's going to make a positive difference in
taking kids out of class and having them urinate into a cup," said Mark
Herro, president of Oconomowoc's school board.

Herro cited a study by University of Michigan researchers who last year
looked at survey data from 1998 through 2001 drawn from 772 high schools
and middle schools. They found virtually identical rates of usage in
schools that test and schools that do not.

Walters said he does not want to tell schools how they should proceed,
particularly if they prefer voluntary to mandatory testing.

His office's Web site holds up a voluntary program in rural Autauga County,
Ala., west of Montgomery, as an example of a successful effort.

Under Autauga's Independent Decision program, participating students who
test negative for nicotine, alcohol, marijuana and other drugs receive
discounts and other perks from local businesses when they present a photo
ID card.

The local Sonic chain offers them 25 percent off on burgers and other fast
foods, while auto shops give a discount of a few dollars on oil changes.

"The beauty of it is that the community becomes aware, the businesses are
involved in supporting that kind of lifestyle and you begin to change the
norm of what's acceptable in your community," said Martha Ellis, executive
director of a local drug-free coalition called Peers Are Staying Straight.