Pubdate: Tue, 02 Jul 2002 Source: Decatur Daily (AL) Copyright: 2002 The Decatur Daily Contact: http://www.decaturdaily.com/decaturdaily/index.shtml Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/696 Author: Deangelo McDaniel Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/testing.htm (Drug Testing) COMMITTEE RECOMMENDS HARTSELLE GET DRUG POLICY HARTSELLE -- The Hartselle City School system could start drug-testing students who participate in extracurricular activities as soon as the next school term. The committee the school board appointed to develop a policy voted unanimously Monday night to recommend that Hartselle have a drug-testing policy. The group did not decide who would be tested or if the policy would recommend testing students that the school system does not suspect of drug use. School Board Chairman Susan Puckett, who serves also on the committee, said the board could implement the policy after school started in August. Supreme Court vote allows testing The U.S. Supreme Court, in a 5-4 decision, cleared the way for school systems to test students who participate in extracurricular activities. Justice Clarence Thomas wrote the opinion for himself, Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist and Justices Antonin Scalia, Anthony M. Kennedy and Stephen Breyer. "We find that testing students who participate in extracurricular activities is a reasonably effective means of addressing the school district's legitimate concerns in preventing, deterring and detecting drug use," Thomas wrote. Hartselle student Amanda Munger serves on the committee. She said students she talked with are worried about the drug-testing policy. Committee member Greg Dobbs said the vote is a move in the right direction. He made the motion to send the recommendation to the school board, but it took him almost 30 minutes to get committee Chairman Susan Hayes to call for a vote. The committee voted by secret ballot. - --- MAP posted-by: Beth