BOARD TO VOTE ON DRUG TESTING

School officials: Both sides of issue have been weighed

The Conway School District's Board of Education will vote Tuesday night on a
hotly debated topic in the district -- random drug testing for students.

Dr. Terry Fiddler, president of the board, said he has received "a large
number (of letters) on both sides" of the issue and has contacted all of the
people personally.

"The pros and cons have been heard," he said. Fiddler emphasized that he
doesn't know whether a policy will be approved or not. "It may be split, it
may be unanimous, I don't know." He said changes to the policy could still
be suggested by board members Tuesday night. The board will meet at 6 p.m.
in the administration building.

"Anybody who doesn't think we've crossed our t's and dotted our i's and
spent a lot of time on this has their head in the sand," Fiddler maintained.

In the proposed policy, students would be tested for five substances:
marijuana, opiates, cocaine, methamphetamines and amphetamines.

The testing would be done by Counseling Associates of Morrilton and results
would be sent to the toxicology lab at Baptist Medical Center in Little Rock
to be confirmed. Each test would cost $16.

Superintendent James Simmons said the cost would not be more than $10,000 to
the school district the first year. He said the idea is to start with fewer
students to "make sure we're doing it right procedurally," and then possibly
increase the number of students tested.

Fiddler said the policy, which was adopted in 2001 and then put on hold, has
been revised.

The following is an outline of the policy under consideration:

Students and the parent or guardian must sign a consent form. Students who
do not sign the form will not be allowed to participate in extracurricular
activities. The students will be randomly drawn from a pool of all students
in extracurricular activities. Parents may request that their child be in
the drawing, whether or not the student is involved in extracurricular
activities.

Students will be able to discuss any medications they have taken. Samples
will be collected alone in an individual stall with the door closed.

1. If a student's test is positive for illicit drugs, the parent or legal
guardian will be notified and a meeting will be scheduled with the
superintendent or his designee, the student, parents and principal. If the
student/parent would like to appeal the results of the test, the student
will be required to provide another sample. The school district will pay for
this second test. If the results of it are negative, no further action will
be necessary.

2. If the second sample is positive, the student will be placed on probation
and not be allowed to participate in competitions, presentations or
activities of Conway Schools for a period of 20 calendar days. Simmons said
the student will still be a member of the group. "If you say you've got to
go home and can't participate, you've just crushed a kid." He said the
students need to stay involved with the group "they've bonded with."

The student will be required to attend drug/alcohol counseling, and if any
charge is incurred, it will be at the expense of the parent or guardian. On
day 21, in order to regain eligibility, the student will be required to be
retested -- at the expense of the school district -- and show proof of
counseling attendance. If the test is negative, the student will again
become eligible for the activity. However, the student must then undergo a
mandatory drug screen or lab test on a monthly basis at the expense of the
parent/guardian. The screening must be done by a reputable agency or
facility capable of screening for the same drugs as the school district's
test.

The duration would be determined by the intervention program -- a maximum of
six months.

3. For the second positive result in the same year, the student will be
suspended from participating the remainder of that semester and the
following semester. If this positive test is in the spring semester, the
student will not be able to participate during the following fall semester
until passing a clear test.

4. For the third positive result in two calendar years, the student will be
suspended from participating in activities for the remainder of his/her
enrollment in the school. This may be appealed to the board.

The policy also says no student will be penalized for testing positive for
illegal drugs and the results will not be documented in any student's
academic records.

Also, the district is "not precluded from utilizing other disciplinary
measures set forth in the student discipline policy" when founded upon
reasonable belief and suspicion that a student has participated in
drug-related activities.