Pubdate: Sat, 13 May 2006
Source: Branson Daily News (MO)
Copyright: 2006 The Branson Daily News
Contact:  http://www.bransondailynews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4031
Author: Brandon Cone, BDN Staff Writer
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?225 (Students - United States)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/testing.htm (Drug Testing)

SCHOOL BOARD OKS DRUG TESTING

The Branson School Board Approved A Drug Testing Policy Thursday That 
Will Affect Hundreds Of Students.

The policy, which is planned to begin at the beginning  of the 
2006-07 school year, is random and will apply to  students 
participating in extracurricular activities.  Students who drive to 
school will also be considered  part of the random-drug-testing pool.

School Communications Director Brenda Romine said the  majority of 
children 16 and above do drive to school.

"Those names of students who park cars on campus will  be put into 
the pool along with those in  extracurricular activities and could 
randomly be  drawn," Romine said.

Superintendent Doug Hayter said the policy was not  adopted to punish 
students, but to encourage them not  to use drugs.

"We really want to use this as a deterrent," Hayter  said. "We're not 
doing this just to catch children  doing something wrong. We're 
hoping that this will make  them think twice about using drugs."

The policy will go into effect next year pending  approval from the 
Missouri School Board Association and  school district attorneys. The 
board initiated the idea  of random drug-testing in October. A task 
force of  students, teachers and administrators from the 
intermediate, junior high and high schools met late  last year to 
make the drug-testing recommendations.

A representative of the company that will conduct the  testing, 
Employee Screening Services, said employees  strive to respect 
students' confidentiality and privacy  "in a non-humiliating way."

"When a student comes in to be tested, we don't know  their name," 
Operations Manager John Throckmorton said.  "We only know them by an 
ID number. We try to casually  speak to kids before the test and put 
them at ease.

"We treat them very similarly to how we do employees  when we test 
them. We pat them down to make sure  they're not carrying anything in 
with them, but we  don't stand in there and watch them or anything."

The company also conducts drug testing for the school  district's bus 
drivers, as well as students and  employees from other schools in 
southwest Missouri.

School board members have volunteered to be the first  to take part 
in the drug testing.

"We have had a lot of support from the community and I  feel like 
this is a policy that will be a positive  impact in our school 
system," Hayter said.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom