CEDAR RAPIDS SCHOOL WILL PAY TO DRUG TEST KIDS

Parents of Xavier High School students in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, who suspect
their children have used drugs can quickly find out -- and the school will
pay for the drug tests. .Xavier's principal, Jeff Henderson, said the new
policy was not a reaction to a specific incident. .

"We're not saying (drug use) is a problem here, but it's a tough job being
a parent and we want to help parents when we can," he said. "This gives
them another tool that can help."

Xavier's practice currently is unique among Iowa schools, and principals at
two Catholic high schools in the Quad-Cities do not plan to adopt it.

Families pay for drug tests of students and employees at Alleman High
School, Rock Island, Principal Colin Letendre said. The tests are conducted
randomly, but every student is tested once a year.

Assumption High School, Davenport, does not conduct tests. Principal Lonnie
Behnke said the school intervenes with discipline and rehabilitation if a
student is caught using drugs or alcohol. The school does not plan to
change its policy, he said.

Xavier is partnering with Mercy Medical Center's Sedlacek Treatment Center
in a pilot project that will allow parents to take their children to a
treatment center at any hour, any day, and test for certain drugs for free.

A standing order from Xavier's nurse authorizes the Mercy lab to test
Xavier students. Parents must accompany the teenager to Mercy for testing
and give consent for the urine specimen to be collected.

The test will detect cocaine, marijuana, opiates (codeine, morphine),
amphetamines and benzodiazepines (Ativan, Halycyon and Valium). It will not
cover alcohol or tobacco, which should easily be detected on a child's
breath, said Bill Marsh, the administrative director of the treatment center.

"This is really a different approach to drug prevention in the community,"
said Marsh, who applauded the school's action.

Neither Marsh nor Henderson knows whether the approach will work.

"If students know their parents can test them at any time, that could
prevent them from using in the first place," Marsh said. "That's the whole
idea of prevention."

At Alleman, Letendre said all employees and students at high schools in the
Catholic diocese, based in Peoria, Ill., are tested for drugs. Each family
pays $50 a year and foots the bill for any follow-up tests that are needed.

The program is in its third year.

Letendre said benefits include giving students another way to refuse use of
drugs and alcohol.

"We do believe it's a deterrent because it's random," he said.

A side benefit is increased health and wellness education, Letendre said.
Students going to the school nurse for the test -- which uses pieces of
hair -- have been asking many health-related questions, he added.

"We didn't anticipate that," he said.

(The Associated Press contributed to this story.)