FIRST STUDENTS DRUG TESTED

Randomly Selected Subjects 'Cooperative,' Official Says

The first 40 students in the Conway School District were randomly tested
for drugs Wednesday, and all the students were "cooperative," said Gerald
Harrison, director of secondary education.

Twenty students each at Conway High School-West and Conway High School-East
were tested. Marti Jones of Counseling Associates in Morrilton conducted
the testing. "We got the list when she walked through the door," said
Harrison, who oversees the drug-testing program.

The testing started at 8:30 a.m. at Conway High School-West, which includes
students in 11th and 12th grades. Students were called out of class with a
phone call to each classroom, not by intercom.

"They were all fine -- cooperative," Harrison said. When asked if the
students were joking or serious about the testing, Harrison said: "They
weren't joking. In the morning time like that, they're awake, but they
haven't been stirred up too much."

He said the drug testing took about two hours at Conway High School-West, a
little longer than expected. He said it should go faster in the future, now
that everyone is familiar with the process.

Testing of ninth- and 10th-graders at Conway High School-East began after
the lunch periods and took approximately one hour.

"We were able to get the list (of students) to East, and they had
everything organized" when officials arrived there to do the testing,
Harrison said.

Harrison said he and Jones, who conducted the testing, recently "went to
every school and took time to do a dry run" to determine which bathrooms
would be used, "who's going to be first, who's going to be last" and other
details.

Testing also will be done at Carl Stuart and Bob Courtway middle schools.

Four parents in the district filed a lawsuit in October in Faulkner County
Circuit Court to stop the drug testing, but Conway Superintendent James
Simmons has said the drug testing will go ahead as planned until the
district is told otherwise. The parents believe the policy violates the
Arkansas Constitution, their children's "right to privacy against
intrusion," and also contend the policy is vague.

Harrison said, "As far as we know, we have not heard anything (on the
lawsuit)."

The district has responded to the lawsuit, maintaining that drug testing
does not violate any laws and cannot be shown to cause irreparable harm to
students.

Bruce Plopper of Conway, one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, said, "I'm
sorry that the school district didn't wait to see how the lawsuit actually
comes out. If whatever court in Arkansas says it is a violation of Arkansas
law, I'd hate for them to look back" and realize they broke the law.

In August, the board voted 4-3 for the random testing of students in
extracurricular activities in grades 7 through 12. The issue had been put
on hold for a year until the Supreme Court ruled it was legal. The pros and
cons of drug testing were hotly debated at several school board meetings
this summer before members adopted the policy.