Pubdate: Fri, 06 Oct 2000
Source: Oregonian, The (OR)
Copyright: 2000 The Oregonian
Contact:  1320 SW Broadway, Portland, OR 97201
Fax: 503-294-4193
Website: http://www.oregonlive.com/
Forum: http://forums.oregonlive.com/
Author: Matt Sabo

DRUG TESTING CALLED OFF IN LINCOLN COUNTY SCHOOLS

A researcher cites low returns on questionnaires in the random tests,
not a lawsuit filed by parents

Oregon Health Sciences University has withdrawn its random
student-athlete drug-testing program from Lincoln County schools.

Dr. Linn Goldberg, an OHSU researcher in charge of the random
drug-testing program, notified the Lincoln County School District
earlier this week that five district schools would no longer
participate in the drug testing and questionnaires.

His decision comes on the heels of a lawsuit filed by parents of two
Toledo High School athletes who objected to the drug-testing program,
although Goldberg said the suit wasn't a factor in the withdrawal.

Instead, Goldberg said he decided to yank the program because of the
low return on student questionnaires from Toledo High School and the
district's refusal to implement a policy that would notify parents of
student athletes who tested positive for drugs.

The $3.6 million, three-year grant from the National Institutes of
Health dictated that students who test positive for drugs and alcohol
should have counseling sessions, Goldberg said. The district was
supposed to contact parents but didn't put that policy into effect.

"We have to follow the dictates of the grant proposal," Goldberg
said.

Debby Miller, spokeswoman for the school district, said that district
officials objected to Goldberg's decision and that there may have been
a misunderstanding over the notification policy. But she said the
district was also reluctant to foot legal bills for fighting the lawsuit.

"When we weighed, 'Is this worth it, is the fight worth it?' we
decided that it wasn't worth it to beg OHSU (to continue the
program)," Miller said.

"We thought about going through the whole court process and doing the
whole Vernonia thing and spending months and months in court, but
right now we have other things to do. We have to educate kids."

Neither the parents suing the district nor their attorney were
available for comment. Goldberg was also disturbed to learn that
fliers were circulated in Toledo High School urging students not to
fill out questionnaires. The fliers characterized the OHSU study as
being forced on student athletes.

"The people who wrote it essentially wanted to keep kids quiet about
their drug and alcohol use," Goldberg said. "In an evaluation we have
to have cooperation. It's not coercion, and it's voluntary to fill out
the questionnaire.

"Essentially, we wanted to find out what kids thought (about drugs and
alcohol), if they were worried about drugs and alcohol, if they felt
safe in school, if they were pressured and who they were abusing with."

Out of hundreds of questionnaires, only 15 were returned from Toledo,
Goldberg said. That's well short of the 50 percent "bare minimum"
needed for a reliable sampling, he said.

"That essentially taints the district because we're looking at these
district by district, and it would be inappropriate to let one school
not cooperate," Goldberg said.

The random drug-testing program will continue at nine other Oregon
high schools.
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