FEW SCHOOLS DRUG TEST STUDENTS

Still Too Early To Tell Supreme Court Ruling's Impact In Georgia, Alabama

Local high school debate team and chess club members won't be screened for
drugs any time soon.

In the wake of Thursday's ruling by the Supreme Court to allow public
schools to drug test students who participate in any extracurricular
activity, the Ledger-Enquirer found few school districts in Georgia and
Alabama that already drug-tested student athletes.

The court's 5-4 decision expands its 1995 ruling, which sanctioned the drug
testing of student-athletes without suspicion. Now, the court ruled,
schools can test any participant in extracurricular activities because the
interest of ridding campuses of drugs outweighs students' rights to privacy.

No state law in Georgia or Alabama addresses the issue, so school districts
may decide whether and how they test for drugs, using the Supreme Court's
decisions as guiding principles.

Opelika High School is the only local school that has a policy to randomly
drug-test student athletes. The policy has been in place since 1997. No
officials were available to discuss its impact or whether the school also
would drug test non-athletic extracurricular participants.

The Alabama Department of Education doesn't track the number of schools
that test students, but the Alabama Health Department has provided
drug-testing strips to 10 of the 128 school districts in the state, and
Opelika wasn't among them: Conecuh County, Lawrence County, Hoover,
Mountain Brook, Tallassee, Arab, Winston County, Cullman, Decatur City and
Decatur County.

At least five more Alabama school districts have requested the testing
strips since Thursday's ruling, said Diane Beeson, who helps run the health
department's drug testing program. The program is funded by about $100,000
from the state's master settlement of the lawsuit against tobacco
companies. The department has sent more than 10,000 drug-test strips to
state schools, she said.

Sue Adams, the administrator for Alabama's Safe and Drug Free Schools
program, expects that number to increase as a result of the Supreme Court's
ruling.

"Especially since the health department is providing the strips at no
charge," she said.

The Georgia Division of Public Health doesn't offer a similar service. The
Georgia Department of Education and office of Safe and Drug Free Schools
also don't track the number of school districts drug testing students.

Mount Zion High School in Carroll County is the only Georgia school the
Ledger-Enquirer found that has been drug testing its student athletes.
School officials weren't available to provide further details.

In Muscogee County, the school board hasn't been asked to vote on drug
testing, said chairwoman Mary Sue Polleys, "but if our teachers or
principals or counselors think it would be necessary or helpful, I'm sure
it would prompt discussion."

Polleys added, "I think in order to take some sort of measure, there needs
to be a good reason, a suspicion. But I would like to hear more input from
people like our principals and anybody on the front line dealing with
students."

Brenda Dozier, the district's assistant superintendent for student
services, said she agrees with the Supreme Court's ruling.

"I think it's a good idea because it keeps the kids on their toes," she
said. "It makes them aware that they can't use marijuana or any other drugs
without getting caught. But I think every child should be tested. It's not
fair just to highlight one group of people."

Tom Hackett, superintendent of the Phenix City School District, said the
district has encouraged parents to administer home drug tests to students
caught with drugs at school.

The district's goal, he said, is to keep drugs out of school. Junior high
and high school students often are required to empty their pockets and turn
over their bags for a search as they walk through school metal detectors
each morning.

"In Phenix City, we've taken a very aggressive stance, but on the end of
weapons and the prevention of drugs coming into the schools," Hackett said.
Drug-sniffing dogs are occasionally brought to the schools unannounced.

Hackett said he agreed with the court's decision.

"Folks who feel like they have this kind of a problem and want to take this
type of aggressive measure, they can, but a measure like this requires full
community support," he said.

In Russell County, administrators in the past have talked about giving
students drug tests. But Superintendent Phil Elder said the practice would
be too expensive.

"It would be hard to justify expenditures for that when we have so many
other needs," he said.