Pubdate: Mon, 28 Jul 2003
Source: Calaveras Enterprise (CA)
Copyright: 2003 Calaveras Enterprise
Contact:  http://www.calaverasenterprise.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/838
Author: Mike Taylor
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/testing.htm (Drug Testing)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth)

BRET HARTE CONSIDERS TESTING ATHLETES FOR DRUGS

High School Could Be First To Test In Mother Lode

Athletes and cheerleaders active at Bret Harte Union High School are
set to become the first in the Mother Lode to face random drug testing
as a requirement of eligibility for their participation in sports,
pending district trustees' approval of a proposed policy.

At the trustees' regular meeting Monday, Superintendent Joseph Wilimek
said the board stressed it wants a "non-punitive" program in place to
help students avoid the pitfalls of peer pressure.

"It's another way to help students say 'no,'" Wilimek
said.

If adopted by the board, student athletes would all have to pass a
drug test administered at the beginning of each season. Once the
initial testing is completed, participating students would be randomly
tested in groups of four every week during the season.

The first series of tests are performed with a litmus paper that
merely indicates the presence of one of seven illegal substances.
Testing will disclose the use of amphetamines, barbiturates,
benzodiazepines (Valium), cocaine, tetrahydrocannabinol (the active
ingredient in marijuana) opiates and alcohol.

If the litmus-paper test reveals the presence of any of the
substances, the sample would be forwarded to a laboratory to determine
exactly which drugs are present.

If the detailed examination reveals illicit drugs in an athlete's
system, the proposed policy requires the student, his or her parents
and an administrator to meet. The athlete will be ineligible to
participate in sports until he or she is enrolled in an intervention
program already in place on campus.

"Once they enroll, they can participate again," Wilimek
said.

The student also will be subject to mandatory urinalysis every 30 days
until the intervention program determines the testing is no longer
necessary. Upon completion of the entire program, the athlete will
need a doctor's clearance indicating he or she is drug free and
physically able to participate in sports.

Students who participate in more than one sport will be required to
submit to the beginning of the season screening before each season.

If an athlete or cheerleader tests positive a second time, they are
immediately ineligible to participate in the sport for the rest of the
season and they must attend a drug education class administered by the
company the district contracts with for testing.

Wilimek said he has spoken to several laboratories in studying the
proposed policy and recently talked with one firm that performs the
testing and conducts classes, "all for the same cost."

He said the district has budgeted $5,000 for the first year of
testing. "That's for a worst-case scenario."

"The results of drug tests pursuant to the policy will not be
documented in any student's permanent records," the draft policy states.

"If we help one kid say 'no' we're done what we need to do," Wilimek
said. "This is not about catching kids doing drugs."

He said the board has decided not to test athletes for performance
enhancing anabolic steroids at this point because the cost of each
test is much higher than for other drugs.

The California Interscholastic Federation's Sac-Joaquin Section
Commissioner, Pete Saco, said the CIF strongly recommends districts
have a steroid policy in place. He also said Dixon High School is the
only school in the section that regularly requires athletes to submit
to drug tests.

But Saco is concerned schools are holding athletes to a different
standard than student who participate in other extra-curricular activities.

"Let's put them all on the same playing field," Saco said. "Why are we
assuming only athletes are doing drugs?"

Wilimek said the board will re-examine the policy in a year and may
then extend the policy to all extra-curricular students.

"I think it's a good idea," said Kim Carpenter, a sophomore who plays
on the Bullfrog junior varsity basketball and the varsity softball
teams. "It will bring out whether players really care about the sport."

Carpenter estimated that just over half the school's athletes have
taken drugs or consumed alcohol. She added that she's heard some
players talking about curtailing their weekend exploits so they aren't
prohibited from playing on the team.

Wilimek echoed that, saying a few players have already approached
coaches, saying they know they need to kick a habit before the testing
begins.

But senior Grover Anderson was concerned freedoms are slowly slipping
away.

"Now they're coming into our private lives," he said. "I feel like
soon we'll be walking through metal detectors," to get to class.

Anderson said he believes students who want to play a sport will
simply change their behavior during the season.

Wilimek said the board may approve the policy at its meeting Aug. 4.
As soon as it receives trustee approval, the policy goes into effect
with testing occurring just before the start of classes Aug. 20.
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MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin