Pubdate: Thu, 29 Dec 2005
Source: Forum. The  (ND)
Copyright: 2005 Forum Communications Co.
Contact:  http://www.in-forum.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/991
Author: Tracy Frank And Eric Peterson
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/testing.htm (Drug Testing)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?225 (Students - United States)

SCHOOLS CONSIDER RANDOM TESTING

While random student drug testing has become an issue  elsewhere,
Fargo school officials say it hasn't been on  the front burner here.

School district Activities Director Ed Lockwood said  random testing
was considered several years ago, but  now the district is trying to
educate students aE"  including those involved in athletics and 
extracurricular activities aE" about drugs using  speakers, posters,
literature and videos.

Last week, New Jersey became the first state to approve  random drug
testing for high school athletes.

This week, two Minnesota school districts aE" Cass  Lake-Bena, east of
Bemidji, and Forest Lake near the  Twin Cities aE" said they also are
considering such a  policy.

Despite this, other districts around the Fargo-Moorhead  area say they
aren't yet there.

The Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton school district has not  considered random
drug testing of students, but Doug  Franke, the school board's
president, said the district  does have dogs randomly go through
school grounds.

In Fargo, Lockwood said team coaches and strength  coaches are the
district's best defense, especially in  the case of
performance-enhancing drugs.

"If we see something, we've handled it individually,"  Lockwood said.
"If a kid starts using that stuff, it  really shows up pretty quick."

The Waubun-Ogema-White Earth school district in  Minnesota has no
plans to consider random drug testing,  but Superintendent Boyd
Bradbury says it is not out of  the question for future
consideration.

Hawley, Minn., has talked about random drug testing  during
administrative meetings because of the proposals  in Cass Lake-Bena
and Forest Lake. The issue has not  been brought up at the board
level, according to  Superintendent Phil Jensen.

David Pace, superintendent in Breckenridge, Minn., says  his district
has not discussed random drug testing. It  should first be considered
by state legislators or by  the Minnesota State High School League
before schools  take on the issue, Pace said.

"I believe that local school districts would spend too  many resources
to defend the option of drug testing,  taking away from the
classroom," he said.

Representatives of the Moorhead, West Fargo, Fergus  Falls, Lake
Park-Audubon and Ada-Borup school districts  also say random drug
testing is not something their  districts have considered, but one
Fergus Falls School  Board Member says it might be worth looking into.

"We have not talked about it," said Tarma Carlson,  Fergus Falls
School Board member. "It does raise my  interest in researching the
need in our district."

Many Cass Lake-Bena teachers and school officials  support the
proposal. So do leaders of the Leech Lake  Indian Reservation, of
which Cass Lake is the largest  community.

But Anthony Robinson, a Cass Lake-Bena senior, isn't so  sure about
it. Robinson plays basketball and says he  sees random drug testing as
more of an infringement on  students' rights than a solution to a drug
problem.

"I don't think it really proves anything," Robinson  said. "I don't
think it's going to get kids off the  streets."

Todd Chessmore, Cass Lake-Bena superintendent says the  district has
not compiled financial ramifications on  random drug tests.

A survey of Illinois school districts participating in  drug testing
programs shows costs range from less than  $25 to more than $75 per
test or $1,600 to $2,500 for a  negotiated lump sum, according to the
Illinois  Association of School Boards.

Chessmore says the tribe has agreed to administer and  pay for the
program aE" which many in the community  believe would give students
another good reason to stay  away from drugs.

He predicts a drug-testing policy will be in place in  the Cass Lake
district by next fall.

Dan Ninham, Cass Lake-Bena High School's basketball  coach, suggested
random drug testing for all middle and  high school students involved
in athletics and other  extracurricular activities after four separate
 homicides occurred in two months this fall near Cass  Lake. Drugs are
thought to have been a factor in some  of those deaths.

"This is just another avenue on how we can address  what's going on
within our own school. We've had a  number of violent incidents in the
last year, and if  there's any connection to drugs and misuse of
alcohol,  if we can address it in that way that we can make it a 
positive, then that's what we're going to do for this,"  Ninham said.

In his proposal, Ninham also offers to make himself and  staff
available for testing aE" a move he said is  unprecedented in the
United States.

The federal courts have ruled that the U.S.  Constitution does not
prevent schools from giving  random drug tests to students in
voluntary  extracurricular activities. But that hasn't prevented 
legal challenges at the state level because state  constitutions often
have more privacy protections.

The Director of the American Civil Liberties Union of  Minnesota says
even if drug testing is legal, it's bad  policy.

The Forest Lake school district will decide next month  whether to
begin considering random drug testing.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.
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MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin