Pubdate: Wed, 16 Aug 2006
Source: Seattle Times (WA)
Copyright: 2006 The Seattle Times Company
Contact:  http://www.seattletimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/409
Author: Lynn Thompson, Times Snohomish County Bureau
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm (Decrim/Legalization)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/testing.htm (Drug Test)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth)

Lake Stevens

MANY AT SCHOOL SUPPORT DRUG TESTS

Rumors about high levels of drug use at Lake Stevens High School 
reached football captain Robert Castaneda over the past few years in 
the form of a question: Is it true that Lake Stevens is a drug school?

Last week, the Lake Stevens School Board voted unanimously to 
implement a random drug-testing program for student athletes and 
those in other after-school activities, becoming the first Snohomish 
County district to do so.

"I think it's a good idea," said Castaneda, a senior, who was 
preparing for the upcoming football season the old-fashioned way -- 
by lifting weights.

"Now we'll know that no one is trying to cheat to win."

District officials estimate that about 600 students out of 2,200 at 
the high school will be subject to the urinalysis tests that will 
start in September. In addition to athletes, the testing program will 
include students in band, cheerleading, dance, student government and 
other activities sanctioned by the Washington Interscholastic 
Activities Association.

Some details of the testing remain undecided, including how long 
students who test positive will be suspended from school. It likely 
will be between 14 days and one month, said Superintendent Dave Burgess.

Technicians from a Seattle lab will administer the tests in a secured 
faculty bathroom. Students will provide the sample in the privacy of 
a bathroom stall. The results will be shared only with a school 
drug-and-alcohol counselor, an designated administrator and a 
student's parents.

Students who test positive will be referred for a professional drug 
assessment and will have to meet the conditions of treatment to 
return to their activity. A follow-up test will be required within a 
month. Tests won't screen for alcohol.

Students at Lake Stevens High School have largely supported the 
testing program, first proposed in May. ASB President Tam To said 
drug use is a problem at the school and needs to be addressed.

"We're taking the initiative. It's going to change the whole 
environment of our school," she said.

Lake Stevens administrators took note when the state's Healthy Youth 
Survey in 2004 showed a jump in illegal drug use by high-school 
students. Students surveyed also said they thought access to drugs 
was easy and that the community didn't care.

The district estimates that the testing program will cost about 
$10,000 per year. A federal Safe and Drug Free School Grant from the 
U.S. Department of Education will cover the first year's costs, and 
the district will pursue additional grants, said spokeswoman Arlene Hulten.

The Bush administration has awarded about $9.8 million to school 
districts and drug-abuse-prevention agencies to administer drug 
tests, the Education Department says.

But the effectiveness and legality of student drug testing are still 
debated. The state's branch of the American Civil Liberties Union has 
challenged testing programs in Kittitas and Wahkiakum counties, 
saying they violate privacy guarantees in the state constitution.

But a Wahkiakum Superior Court judge in June ruled in favor of the 
school district, saying the district has the authority and 
responsibility to protect the health and safety of students. The ACLU 
has asked the state Supreme Court to review the decision.
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman