Pubdate: Fri, 05 Aug 2005
Source: Palestine Herald Press (TX)
Copyright: 2005, The Palestine Herald Press.
Contact:  http://www.palestineherald.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2487
Author: Mary Rainwater
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?225 (Students - United States)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/testing.htm (Drug Testing)

PISD HOLDS FORUM TO DISCUSS STUDENT DRUG TESTING POLICY

As a means of gathering public input on a drug testing policy being 
developed by the district, Palestine Independent School District Board of 
Trustees and administrators held a community forum Thursday.

Very few parents attended the event, but the forum did allow district 
employees and local drug testing experts to discuss the issue at length 
with trustees.

Assistant Superintendent Suzie Eiben discussed a few details of the 
still-developing policy with attendees, stating that the testing is being 
considered for students in the sixth through 12th grades who are involved 
in any extracurricular activity and who drive to and park a car on campus.

The two main aspects of the policy discussed at the forum were that of 
consequences and the percentage and frequency of students being tested in 
the random screenings.

Eiben, who has been working with a policy expert at the Texas Association 
of School Boards, proposed a "three strike" disciplinary action scale.

"Upon the first offense, the student would be suspended from 
extracurricular activities until being retested at the next screening 
time," Eiben explained. "The second offense prompted suspension from 
outside activities for an entire calendar year."

The third offense called for suspension from those activities for the 
remainder of the student's time on that campus.

Board president Dana Staples disagreed with that proposal, stating that 
taking away the student's privileges while on that campus was detrimental 
to a student's self-esteem.

"It seems that being suspended for a certain period of time would be better 
than keeping the student from participating in activities permanently," she 
said.

Most trustees were more agreeable with PISD Athletic Director Glen 
Tunstall's suggested consequences - being suspended for 30 days on the 
first offense and for a calendar year on the second offense.

"Then the students would need to be clean for a certain time period before 
being reinstated," he said.

In discussion of the randomness of student testing, trustee Mark Calhoon 
was concerned that some students involved in extracurricular activities 
might not ever be tested in a given school year.

"I think we should state that students could be tested at random or as a 
body," he said. "Or have a large initial testing and a high percentage on 
subsequent testings - something to ensure all students are tested at least 
once during the year."

Having first proposed approval of the policy at the board's upcoming 
regular meeting next week, Eiben said that more work needed to be done on 
the policy before it is brought before the board.

"The board will certainly continue discussion of the policy at the next 
meeting," Staples said.

PISD trustees and administration began discussion of the issue at their 
July meeting, hearing recommendations from three local drug testing groups.

The district currently has no student drug testing policy.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom