SCHOOLS CLARIFY POLICY ON DRUG TESTING

Whitfield County school board members Tuesday unanimously approved a change
in wording of the school system's drug testing policy, but the way the
policy is implemented is not expected to change.

"This was just a clarification," board chairman Jerry Nealey said
Wednesday. "We wanted to make it as simple and clear as possible."

The policy, like others, was examined by attorneys "on a routine check of
all our policies" when it was "pointed out as needing some extra
clarification," superintendent Tony Cook said.

Originally approved in early 2002, the policy calls for testing of students
who play sports, and an amendment earlier this year called for testing for
those participating in other activities, including band, drama and chorus,
said Richard Schoen, the school system's director of student services.

Following Tuesday's change, the policy states "the board believes that
initial and random testing of students participating in extracurricular
activities is necessary for the protection of student safety and welfare,"
with the words "initial and random" being the sole addition.

The school system remains very supportive of drug testing for students who
elect to participate in extracurricular activities because school officials
believe it "is a real deterrent to drug use,"

Schoen said. Among other factors, it gives students a ready excuse not to
use drugs, he said. Some children might not want to simply say they don't
want to use drugs, and because of the policy "they have an excellent
incentive" not to use them, he added.

Students have told Schoen that the system works, that it actually does
deter people from using drugs, he said. And it was students who encouraged
him to not do the testing on a schedule, saying the tests would be more
effective if students didn't know when they would happen.

"We were testing every six weeks, but the students learned it was coming
and could prepare for it," Schoen said.

The testing program costs the system approximately $5,000 per year, with
tests administered by Hamilton Medical Center.

"My son is out of high school now, but if it had been implemented back when
he was in school I'd not have had a problem with it," Nealey said. "We have
a tendency to put our athletes on a pedestal, but we need to do everything
we can to make sure they're clean."

"This policy, like all our others, is on the Internet, on the Georgia
School Board Association's Web site," gsba.com, Cook said. "Any student who
wants to see our policies can go to the Web site, look under 'policy,' and
see all of them."