MID-PACIFIC CONSIDERS TESTING FOR DRUGS

The Private School Is Looking At A Policy That Would Put Young Offenders In
Treatment

Mid-Pacific Institute is considering drug testing its students, citing the
prevalence of crystal methamphetamine use in Hawaii and the importance of
treating kids who take drugs.

"We've been looking into the possibility of having a random drug testing
policy, the goal being to help students who need help," high school
Principal Rich Schaffer told the Star-Bulletin. "If we identify somebody,
we're going to get him into a treatment program. There is not going to be
any disciplinary action."

Mid-Pacific's proposal parallels one advocated by Senate President Robert
Bunda (D, Wahiawa-Pupukea) for public school students, which was deferred by
legislators after questions were raised about whether it would violate
privacy rights and be worth the cost. Legislators plan to form a task force
to study the issue.

Mid-Pacific's administration is consulting with parents and studying how
such programs worked at schools on the mainland, he said. A few parents have
expressed concern about infringing on students' rights, he said, but overall
response from parents has been "overwhelmingly supportive."

"We will make a decision for sure before the end of this school year," he
added.

Mid-Pacific, which enrolls 1,100 students in sixth to 12th grade at its
Manoa campus, is not the only private school in Hawaii to broach the
subject. Catholic Schools Superintendent Carmen Himenes said officials have
discussed and rejected the idea of drug testing in the past, but plan to
revisit the issue soon at a meeting of secondary school principals.

"It's an issue that we will again look at very closely," she said. "We'd
need lots of study before we would adopt any new policy."

Spokeswomen for Punahou and Iolani said their schools have not considered
random drug testing.

In a message to Mid-Pacific families in February, Schaffer asked for
parental input on "our planned implementation of a random drug testing
program," noting the upswing in "ice" (crystal methamphetamine) use among
Hawaii's youth and the potential that even minimal use can cause brain
damage.

"While we don't believe there is a large use among our student body, we have
recently become aware of a few cases," he wrote, "and have been able, with
the cooperation and assistance of their families, to get these students into
treatment programs. We are taking a very proactive approach to this
situation."

Tom McKinley, president of Mid-Pac's Parent Teacher Organization, said he
favors the idea, as long as it leads to treatment, not punishment. He
believes the knowledge that they could be tested at any time should make
students think twice before trying drugs.

"It gives the kids another reason to say, 'Do I really want to do this?'" he
said. "I believe in privacy but safety is the first thing."

Several other parents contacted declined to comment or said they had not
formed an opinion yet.

Prosecutor Peter Carlisle, who has a son at Mid-Pacific and a daughter at
Punahou, wants Hawaii schools to try a program modeled on one at several New
Orleans schools, which use hair samples to test for drug use. Results are
kept confidential, and no punitive or criminal action results from a
positive test, he said.

"We need to deal with this problem as early as possible," he said. "This is
a classic preventive measure. It prevents them from getting in the criminal
justice system. It prevents them from being peer-pressured into using
drugs."

But Pam Lichty, president of the board of the Hawaii affiliate of the
American Civil Liberties Union, said random testing of all students invades
their privacy, creates an adversarial relationship and diverts funds better
spent on prevention and treatment.

"It makes the students suspect," she said. "The ACLU's position is that if
drug testing is to be done, it should be based on impaired performance. If a
student is falling asleep in class, acting up or missing a lot of classes,
then maybe drug testing is warranted."

As a private institution, Mid-Pacific may impose conditions such as drug
testing on all students, but public schools face constitutional hurdles.

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that public schools may legally test
students who choose to participate in sports or other optional
extracurricular activities. But it has not said whether drug testing of all
students as a condition of attending school is legal.

Government agents are prohibited from conducting unreasonable searches and
seizures. But the issue is not clear cut in the case of public schools,
which are government agents but also act as guardians of students. The state
Constitution also affords residents more privacy protection than the U.S.
Constitution.