Pubdate: Fri, 21 Jul 2006
Source: Cincinnati Enquirer (OH)
Copyright: 2006 The Cincinnati Enquirer
Contact: http://enquirer.com/editor/letters.html
Website: http://enquirer.com/today/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/86
Author: Cindy Kranz, Enquirer Staff Writer
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/testing.htm (Drug Test)

MILFORD HS TO DRUG-TEST

Students in Activities, Drivers Subject to Random Checks

MILFORD - When Milford High School resumes classes Aug. 28, more than 
half of the 1,900 students will be subject to random drug tests.

The Milford School Board on Thursday approved a policy that requires 
students participating in any co-curricular (band/chorus) or 
extracurricular (sports, groups) activities and students who apply 
for a parking permit to be subject to random drug testing.

No parents or students spoke about the policy at the board meeting.

Board President Carol Ball said the "Just say 'No'" public-service 
messages of the past are not enough today, when young people are 
increasingly pressured by others to use or buy drugs.

"We want to give our children another reason to say 'no' that their 
peers will understand," she said.

Students eligible for testing will be assigned numbers. A computer 
will randomly select numbers, and those students will be required to 
provide a urine sample.

If students test positive, they will be removed from the activity 
they are currently participating in for the rest of the season, or 
their parking permit will be revoked for the remainder of the season. 
Permits are sold seasonally - fall, winter and spring.

Students would not be suspended or expelled, nor would they be turned 
over to the police.

"The purpose of this policy is to strengthen the district's 
zero-tolerance stance on drugs," Superintendent John Frye said. "It 
also provides students with a strong reason to say no. It is not our 
intention to catch kids who test positive for drugs, but rather 
prevent students from using drugs in the first place."

Board members said implementing the policy doesn't mean that Milford 
has a larger drug problem than any other schools. But board member 
Dave Yockey said, "To ignore the fact or to say we don't have a 
problem would be sticking our heads in the sand."

Milford School District spent $60,000 in the 2004-05 school year for 
an undercover private investigator to pose as a student and make drug 
buys from high school students. Sixteen students were arrested at a 
drug bust in April 2005.

Some Ohio districts currently do drug testing, but Milford's new 
random drug-testing policy might be the toughest in the state, Scott 
Ebright, spokesman for the Ohio School Boards Association, said.

Random drug testing for students who participate in extracurricular 
activities has been upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court and is legal, 
said Jeff Gamso, legal director for the American Civil Liberties 
Union of Ohio. The idea is that participating in those activities is 
a privilege, not a right.

But, he said, drug-testing students with parking permits is on 
questionable legal ground.

Gamso said there's no evidence that drug tests deter drug use. "What 
you're doing is pumping money into a program that may or may not 
accomplish a thing." Milford will pay for testing with Drug Free 
School federal grant money.

What's more, Gamso said, drug testing sends a message to students 
that the school doesn't trust them: "It's a bad use of resources. 
It's bad for the kids. It's bad for the school district. The parents 
should be outraged."

Deanna Eppers, who has a daughter in high school, thinks the timing 
of the policy is bad and will foster community distrust of the school 
board and superintendent.

"Go ahead and test my daughter. I don't think it's a good move right 
now. I think many people will be offended. This may affect the levy." 
Milford is considering a levy and bond issue for November.

Her daughter, Stephanie, 17, will be a junior and is in chorus.

"It won't be a problem with me, because I don't do that kind of 
thing," Stephanie said. However, she added that she's concerned a 
random drug-testing policy would discourage drug users from 
participating in activities that might do them some good or even stop 
them from using drugs.

Casey Larrison, a 17-year-old senior, will be driving to school this 
year and be subject to random drug testing. "I don't have anything to 
hide. If they want to test me, fine. They're not going to find anything."

His father, John Larrison, a district school bus driver, has two 
other children, one at the high school and one at the junior high.

"I think it's great," John Larrison said of the new policy. "We came 
from Chicago where the drug problem is terrible compared to here. 
It's great to see the school board taking some action and making it 
safer for my kids to go to school."

[sidebar]

MILFORD'S RANDOM DRUG-TESTING POLICY

The policy requires Milford High School students participating in any 
co-curricular or extracurricular activities and students who apply 
for a parking permit to be subject to random drug testing.

Parents and students must sign a form consenting to the drug testing 
at the beginning of the school year. If the form is not signed, the 
student will not be permitted to participate in their respective 
activity or to park on the high school campus.

Random drug testing of student athletes may be conducted throughout 
the school year. Drug testing will be administered before specific 
sport seasons begin, when driving permits are issued three times a 
year and at activity changes for co-curricular activities, such as 
marching band or concert band. A student may also be tested if the 
program director, athletic director, building principal or the 
superintendent has reasonable suspicion of a violation.

Administrators at Milford High School will assign numbers to students 
who are involved in any of the described activities. A computer will 
randomly select numbers, up to 10 percent of the pool of participants 
during each week of the school year, and then require those students 
to produce a urine sample for testing. The student must provide 
details of any prescription medications. This information is sent 
directly to the testing laboratory to protect the student's privacy.

If a student's drug test indicates a positive result, the lab will 
conduct a second test of the same sample. If the second test is 
positive, the student will be subject to the appropriate consequences 
as defined in the Student Handbook and specific activity code of conduct.

For example, a student athlete would be suspended from the team for 
the rest of the season. If it is a student driver using a parking 
permit, that permit would be forfeited for that season. The student 
would not be subject to suspension or expulsion from school in the 
event of a positive test result, and the district would not report 
results to any law-enforcement authorities.

If the student refuses to submit to a drug test, that student loses 
eligibility to participate in the activity for the remainder of the 
season or loses the parking permit for the remainder of that season.

Source: Milford School District 
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake