Pubdate: Sun, 11 Mar 2007 Source: Record, The (Hackensack, NJ) Copyright: 2007 North Jersey Media Group Inc. Contact: http://www.bergen.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/44 Author: Andrea Alexander Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/testing.htm (Drug Test) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth) NORTH JERSEY SCHOOLS LEAD WAY ON STUDENT DRUG TESTS New Jersey is at the forefront of a national trend to make drug and alcohol testing as common as gym class for teens who play high school sports, participate in extracurricular activities or drive to school. The White House announced on Friday that $1.6 million in grants will be available for districts like Kinnelon that are considering plans to start programs, and for districts like Wayne that are looking into making voluntary programs mandatory. The districts have until May 8 to apply. The Bush administration also plans to provide about $10 million to continue programs. That could help districts like Pequannock that have become a national model for schools around the country. Pequannock officials have received calls from 50 districts considering programs of their own -- some as far away as Florida, California and Texas. The increase in schools drug testing around the state is "without a doubt a trend," said David Evans, founder of the New Jersey-based Drug Free Schools Coalition. "Within five years, most of the districts in the state will be doing it." Since the federal government began awarding money in 2003, $35.9 million has been handed out, according to the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy. "New Jersey certainly is one of the landmark states," said Bertha Madras, a deputy director. Hunterdon Central High School is considered a national model, Madras said. The school won a precedent-setting case in the New Jersey Supreme Court that upheld a district's right to test athletes and students involved in extracurricular activities. Encouraging school drug testing is a presidential priority because drug use has been tied to school violence and other types of delinquent behavior, Madras said. In a 2005 Columbia University survey, 62 percent of high schoolers and 28 percent of middle schoolers reported that drugs were used, kept, or sold at their school. Counseling, Not Police Drug testing programs are not meant to catch students or punish them, proponents say. Instead, drug testing is supposed to prevent students from ever starting to experiment with drugs. Students who test positive the first time are required to seek counseling. Parents are notified, but the police are not. The positive test does not go on students' records but most districts do ban students from extracurricular activities or sports for a limited amount of time. "It is like a patrol car parked on the side of the road," said Pequannock Valley Middle School Principal William Trusheim. "No one will speed past him. This is the same concept." Pequannock schools were the first in the state to test middle school students for drug use. The district adopted a voluntary program at the middle school and a mandatory program for the high school. In Wayne, the board adopted a voluntary testing program last year for both district high schools. More than 200 students, about a third of the freshman class, are enrolled. Eighth-grade students are asked to sign up when they select their high school courses. Plans to investigate a mandatory drug testing policy have met with resistance from some members of the board of education. "I don't think it is something the government ought to be doing," said trustee Cindy Simon. "It is very Big Brother-ish." Board member Donald Pavlak Jr., a Wayne police sergeant, supports considering a mandatory program. More than 10 years ago, he responded to a call for a high school student who had overdosed. "I still today hear his mother's screams," Pavlak said. "That is something you don't forget." A Student Dies Pequannock schools were driven to adopt one of the state's strictest policies after two students overdosed. In 2001, an Ecstasy overdose killed senior Mike Del Giudice. The district planted a memorial tree outside the school to serve as both a memorial and a deterrent. A few years later the tree became a painful reminder to administrators who were afraid they failed. Another student, Jesse Morella, suffered irreversible brain damage and was confined to a wheelchair after a heroin overdose in 2004. The drug testing program was born out of community meeting with parents following the second overdose. The program at the Pequannock Valley Middle School is voluntary, but 80 percent of the students participate. Testing in the high school is mandatory for those involved in sports and other extracurriculars and for students who drive to school. The district started testing middle school students because studies show that many students encounter drugs before high school. Testing children who are 11 and 12, "encourages students not to start," Trusheim, the principal, said. The district recently gained national attention when it adopted a random alcohol test that can detect on Monday whether a teenager took a drink on Friday. The urine screening is for ethyl glucuronide (EtG), a residue of metabolized alcohol. Aggressive Testing The drug and alcohol testing has not met with widespread resistance from students. DePaul Catholic High School in Wayne has been testing students through a voluntary program for seven years. Wayne school officials visited the Catholic school when they were looking for models for their program. While most public schools test about 10 students or less a week, DePaul runs an aggressive program that tests 125 students weekly and more than 90 percent of the school participates. "Kids don't do things because they might be drug tested on Monday," said Matt Ratajczak, 18, a senior at DePaul. Because so many students are in the program at DePaul if someone opts out, "you wonder what they have to hide," he said. Drug testing in schools does have some organized opponents such as the Drug Policy Alliance. "There is a lot of concern that the programs undermine the very things that work to protect students against problems," said Jennifer Kern, of the Alliance. Drug testing programs break down trust and might keep some students from getting involved in after school activities and other programs that are proven effective to keep them away from drug use, she said. But one of the biggest proponents of drug testing is Maureen Morella of Pequannock. She brings her son Jesse, now 18 and permanently wheelchair-bound as the result of a heroin overdose, to speak to students all over the state. Jesse can nod his head yes or no, but has to eat through a feeding tube. "There is something way more horrible than finding out that your child is dabbling in drugs," Morella said. "It is not finding out. Then it is too late." Morella wishes she had gotten a telephone call warning her that her son was experimenting with drugs. "He wouldn't be spending the rest of his life in a wheelchair," she said. ""It would have saved my life and it would have saved his life." [Sidebar] How Does It Work Who is tested? Students who drive to school, play sports or participate in extracurricular activities. What do districts usually test for? Alcohol and drugs including marijuana, cocaine, Ecstasy, PCP and oxycodone, amphetamines, opiates, methamphetamines. What are the penalties? Students testing positive the first time are not punished but are given counseling. Parents are notified. * * * WHO's Involved Some North Jersey districts that have drug testing programs: High Schools North Bergen Pequannock Secaucus Wayne Middle Schools Pequannock Kinnelon High School is considering drug testing. - --- MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman