Pubdate: Fri, 24 Nov 2006 Source: Appalachian News-Express (KY) Copyright: 2006 Appalachian News-Express Contact: http://www.news-expressky.com Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1450 Author: Mary Music Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/testing.htm (Drug Test) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth) COUNTY REVIEWS DRUG TESTING POLICY The Pike County Board of Education is drug testing more students more often, but there are still some problems with the policy. Vice-Chairman J.C. Chaney asked Board of Education members to revamp the district's random student drug-testing policy after one child, who is not in the random drug testing pool, was tested because officials suspected illegal drug use. The student, whose parents weren't notified by the Board of Education or the school, passed the test, Chaney said. Board of Education attorney Neal Smith said a lot of people could abuse the drug testing program if the district is legally allowed to test students because of suspicion. The district should take every precaution to ensure that the board's legal limitations are upheld, he said. Smith said notifying the parent about an upcoming random student drug test could eliminate the "element of surprise" for students who are drug tested. Eugene Cisco, the owner of ASAP Consulting, a business that handles the district's random drug-testing grant, said 1,300 students were tested last year. There are thousands of students in the drug-testing pool this year, he said, and 2,587 students have already been tested. Cisco said there has been a 6 percent decline in student drug use in Pike County, according to a survey in which students stated whether they used illegal drugs over the past 30 days. The decrease, he said, is similar in high schools across the country, but 35 percent of students also claim that they know students who quit using drugs because of the random drug-testing policy. Cisco said there were 11 non-negative drug tests administered in Pike County Schools this year, but seven or eight additional non-negative tests came back from the lab with normal results. "We're not so far off from the number [of non-negatives] that we had the first year," Cisco said. Chaney said something has to be wrong with the testing process because he knows of schools where 10 or 11 drug-related problems pop up every month. The company uses urinalysis to test older students and swab tests for younger students, Cisco said. If a student uses marijuana, he said a swab test will only prove positive if the student used the drug within the past seven hours. About 70 percent of the tests administered were swab tests, he said. If a student is taking illegal pills, no drug test will pick it up after two weeks, Cisco said. The district does not test students below the sixth grade and officials estimated that about 45 percent of students in other grades have been tested this year. Cisco was hoping to test at least 60 percent of the random drug testing pool before the school year ends. Parents can request that their children be placed on the random drug-testing list. Cisco said the district needs to continually increase the pool of students in the random drug testing list, a task that could be accomplished by increasing the number of student clubs or athletic activities. It is against the law to drug-test a student because he or she is a student, but exceptions can be made for students who participate in after school programs or who drive to school. "We can call the freshman class a club and test them all," Chaney said. The Board of Education agreed to allow more frequent testing of students, and it won't cost the district more to test the students more frequently, Cisco said. Board of Education members decided to schedule a work session to discuss the drug testing policy. Superintendent Roger Wagner said the district's substance abuse task force is moving in the right direction. Officials are reviewing employee drug testing policies in other districts in order to create one for the Pike County School District. - --- MAP posted-by: Derek