SCREENING FOR DRUGS CONSIDERED

Ashland schools weigh extracurricular testing.

Parents in Ashland are being asked whether they would support drug
testing of high school students.

The proposed policy would require Southern Boone County High School
students involved in sports or extracurricular activities to be
tested before they participate. Students who want parking permits
also would be required to be tested. Those students would be subject
to random testing throughout the school year.

"We had a student die of a drug overdose last school year," high
school Activities Director Pat Lacy said. "And a survey we sent out
showed that marijuana and alcohol are being used in our district."

He stressed that neighboring districts, including North Callaway and
South Callaway, have similar policies. Southern Boone educators have
been working with those districts to develop the Ashland proposal.

The school sent out surveys asking parents what they think about the
plan. The board of education plans to discuss the proposal at its May
14 meeting.

"With a decision this big, you want to have the support of your
community," Lacy said. "We're not the first district looking at drug
testing. You don't know if it's going to cure the problem, but we
wanted to take action other districts have already done. We're trying
to make kids safe."

The Centralia school district also has a drug-testing policy. In
Hallsville, the school district offers vouchers to parents who want
to test their teens at home.

A task force looking at drug use among students in Columbia Public
Schools has recommended an aggressive marketing campaign targeting
drug abuse. But the committee of about 50 people did not recommend
drug testing and left open the possibility of using dogs to sniff
out drugs on school parking lots.