DISTRICT FILES RESPONSE TO DRUG TESTING SUIT

Attorney Asks for Summary Judgment, Includes Affidavits on Illegal Substances

The Conway School District's attorney has responded to a lawsuit concerning
drug-testing of students saying the policy does not violate any laws and
cannot be shown to cause irreparable harm to the students.

To illustrate the drug problem in Conway schools, the answer includes
affidavits from police and school officials about drug use by students.

The answer and motion for summary judgment were filed Tuesday in Faulkner
County Circuit Court by attorney Bill Brazil in response to a lawsuit
brought by four parents to stop drug testing.

The Conway school board voted 4-3 in August to adopt a drug policy to
randomly test students in grades 7 through 12 after hearing comments, both
pro and con, from parents. The board had previously adopted a policy, but
it was placed on hold to see how the U.S. Supreme Court would rule on
random drug testing, which it upheld.

Four Conway parents filed the lawsuit in October on behalf of their
children. The parents are Bruce Plopper, Michael Conine and Henry and
Maureen Zimmerebner. Their attorney is Lynn Plemmons of Conway.

The lawsuit asked for a temporary restraining order and a permanent
injunction on the drug testing, which the plaintiffs call suspicionless.
They maintain it violates students' common law right to privacy against
intrusion and restricts student freedom. It also contends that the policy
is "impermissibly vague."

Many parents who approached the school board to speak against the
drug-testing policy said they are testing the wrong group of students. The
Supreme Court has ruled that schools cannot test all students.

Brazil said in the response filed that the policy is "extremely clear."

Affidavits from police officers and school officials were attached to his
motion.

Eric King, a Conway police officer who serves as a resource officer at
Conway High School West, said he is aware there are "a substantial number
of teen-agers in grades 7 through 12 who use, buy and experiment with
controlled substances." A great majority of the discipline problems he
deals with "are related to the use of drugs," he stated.

"There are about the same number of children involved in extracurricular
activities as those not involved in such activities that use drugs," he added.

Another Conway police officer, David A. Berry, stated in a signed affidavit
that "a number of students in the Conway School District have admitted to
me that they use drugs." Last school year, according to Berry, "there were
a substantial number of 9th and 10th-grade band students who were using
controlled substances. Many were sharing, experimenting with and using
prescription medication that they got at home from parents."

Police Officer Bruce Allen Childers, school resource officer at both middle
schools, said "the drug use among school-age students living in the Conway
School District is a serious problem, even among the 7th and 8th grades.
Some of the students, who admit using drugs, are athletes and/or involved
in extracurricular activities."

Athletic Director Buzz Bolding said in an affidavit that "in the past four
or five years, there has been a substantial increase in the use of
controlled substances among athletes in the Conway School District."
Bolding stated that students who experiment with or use drugs "have
diminished athletic skills, attitude changes, personality changes, all of
which can lead to injury of themselves and/or others."

Superintendent James Simmons said last month, "We'll go right on until
somebody tells us not to."

Gerald Harrison, director of secondary education and drug-testing
coordinator, said on Wednesday that all the names of students to be tested
were being placed in a computer by Counseling Associates of Morrilton and
double-checked by the schools. The first drug test will be given in "a
couple of weeks," he said.

School officials have said students will provide the sample in privacy in a
closed restroom stall. The samples will be sent to the toxicology lab at
Baptist Medical Center for confirmation.