Pubdate: Mon, 31 Dec 2001 Source: Blade, The (OH) Copyright: 2001 The Blade Contact: http://www.toledoblade.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/48 Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/testing.htm (Drug Testing) CLINTON SCHOOLS' INTRUSION A Michigan school district's attempt to keep students from abusing drugs by subjecting those who display signs and behavior of substance abuse to a saliva-based test that gives immediate results is much too subjective and presumptuous. The Clinton Community Schools board of education had good intentions when it adopted a policy to administer the test to students believed to be using drugs. Students who display signs or behavior associated with drug use - blood-shot eyes or an odor of illegal drug use, for example - are sent to the principal's office where they are questioned. "They can either deny it or they can admit it to me," Jim DuVall, principal, said. "If they deny it, I offer the option of being tested to prove that they are correct. If they refuse the test, we consider that an admission of guilt." Well, Mr. DuVall presumes guilt, and school officials are not law enforcement officers or prosecutors. Clinton administrators have been trained to administer the test and teachers have been schooled about what to look for. But school staffs are not experts in these fields, and that they are not puts them in an untenable position. Suppose a student's eyes are red because he's tired, has an eye infection, or wears contacts that give him trouble? The district's guidelines avoid random testing, but who decides if an official is merely out to "get" a student who is sent to the principal for testing? It could happen. The district says that parents are notified as soon as possible and that the tests are discarded. But there are other concerns that the American Civil Liberties Union is right to raise. For example, are the tests accurate, even if initial positive test results are verified by a laboratory? Are students legally charged? How do schools differentiate between one-time users and habitual users? If test results are positive, a student is suspended for three or five days on the first and second occasions. If there is a third offense, students face a 10-day suspension and there is a recommendation for expulsion. So do results of drug tests stay in a student's records? Some Ohio school districts, including Toledo Public, give student athletes drug tests, and that makes sense. The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to issue a ruling on an Oklahoma school district that wants to randomly give drug tests to students in such extracurricular activities as choir. The Oklahoma district's idea is intrusive, just as is Clinton's, and the high court should find that to be so. - --- MAP posted-by: Beth