Pubdate: Thu, 26 Jan 2006
Source: Sentinel And Enterprise, The (MA)
Copyright: 2006 MediaNews Group, Inc. and Mid-States Newspapers, Inc.
Contact:  http://sentinelandenterprise.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2498
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/testing.htm (Drug Testing)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?225 (Students - United States)

RANDOM DRUG TESTING SENDS A NEGATIVE MESSAGE

No question, some high school students use and abuse illegal drugs.

Therefore, school officials should carefully monitor students for 
evidence of drug use or dealing.

But should they go as far as conducting random drug tests? 
Administrators in New Bedford plan to do just that.

Random testing will be implemented in the city's middle schools and 
high schools this March.

The effort is voluntary, in one sense: Parents will choose whether to 
enroll their children in the program.

Carl Alves, director of the partnership that runs the New Bedford 
program, said students that are randomly chosen will be called out of 
class for a cotton swab test in the mouth.

The sample is sent to an outside lab to be tested for drugs. The 
results will be sent directly to parents, so nothing goes on the 
student's school record.

Local schools already have fairly stiff penalties for drug use in 
place. Students caught doing drugs on Fitchburg or Leominster school 
campuses, or during a school-related activity, are automatically 
suspended for up to 10 days,  and must attend an expulsion hearing.

There are also efforts to treat the problem proactively. Leominster 
High School has a substance abuse group that meets each week, and 
Fitchburg High School provides counseling for students if their 
parents feel it  is necessary.

But neither school is planning to conduct random drug testing. "We're 
an academic institution," said Rich Masciarelli, principal of 
Fitchburg High School. "We have students six hours out of 24 and our 
focus is on  the academic curriculum."

There could be merit to the view that random testing serves as a 
deterrent. "I think it would make kids scared to do it," said Caitlin 
Jones, a junior at Leominster High School. "It would make them think 
twice." But enacting such a policy would also send a negative message 
to students: That on the whole, they are not to be trusted.

The fact is that many students do not succumb to temptation, and 
spurn the use of illegal drugs.

That should be recognized by any school effort to fight drug use. 
Testing may have its place, particularly when administrators believe 
a particular student has a serious dependency issue.

But there's no need to tar all kids with the same brush. Random drug 
testing would do just that.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom