Pubdate: Fri, 27 Apr 2001
Source: Amarillo Globe-News (TX)
Copyright: 2001 Amarillo Globe-News
Contact:  http://amarillonet.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/13
Author: Jessica Raynor, Globe-News Staff Writer

LOCKNEY MAN 'GLAD' DRUG-TEST SUIT RESOLVED

LOCKNEY - Larry Tannahill of Lockney finally can breath a sigh of relief.

After a year of fighting the local school district's mandatory drug-testing 
policy, Tannahill got his wish: Lockney schools will not make its students 
submit to future drug testing, according to a tentative settlement agreement.

The American Civil Liberties Union filed the lawsuit on behalf of Tannahill 
and his son Brady, who was the only Lockney student who did not take the 
mandatory suspicionless drug testing.

Larry Tannahill said he feels vindicated but also a little road weary.

"I'm just glad for all this mess to get over with," Larry Tannahill said. 
"It's been a burden on us for the last 14 months. I'm glad to have it over 
with and out of the way."

The Lockney Independent School District met in an emergency executive 
session Wednesday night and decided to settle the case.

Larry Tannahill said he met with Lockney Superintendent Raymond Lusk at 
about 7 p.m. Wednesday, and Larry Tannahill signed and had notarized his 
agreement to the settlement.

Lusk said Thursday that the district received the agreement paperwork late 
Tuesday, and he signed the agreement after the meeting Wednesday.

"We do believe that we made a positive impact on our school and students 
through the policy we had in place," he said. "The decision to reach a 
settlement agreement was purely economical."

Lockney ISD's attorney, Lee Veness in Dallas, said the district is not 
admitting any liability.

"The simple fact of the matter is that the school has limited resources to 
see that justice is done," Veness said. "They can only go so far. This is 
an economic thing more than anything."

The tentative settlement agreement, which had not reached U.S. District 
Judge Sam R. Cummings' office in Lubbock by late Thursday, asks that drug 
testing be performed only with the students' and parents' consent or based 
upon reasonable suspicion.

It also asks that Lockney ISD pay for Larry Tannahill's $50,000 worth of 
attorney's fees. Court papers filed Monday in U.S. District Court, Northern 
District, in Lubbock indicate the school district has until today to 
respond to that part of the tentative agreement.

Lusk said the fees will be paid to the ACLU out of the school's insurance 
policy.

In return, the Tannahills cannot bring further legal action against the 
school district in this matter.

Michael Linz, an ACLU attorney in Austin, said Thursday he has not received 
any finalized paperwork on any settlement. Veness said "the case looks like 
it's going to be settled."

ACLU brought the lawsuit soon after the school started testing students in 
February 2000. The school district later changed the policy so that 
students who tested positive or did not take the test would not be barred 
from extracurricular activities or placed in in-school suspension.

Even with all the negative attention over the past year, at least one 
parent said he thinks mandatory drug testing was a good idea to keep 
children away from drugs.

"I was for the drug policy. I knew it was good sense," said Zach Cummings 
of Lockney, who has an eighth-grade boy at Lockney. "As far as dropping the 
lawsuit, I believe they (school officials) were probably butting their 
heads against a brick wall."
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