Pubdate: Sun, 01 Jul 2007
Source: New Jersey Herald (NJ)
Copyright: 2007, Quincy Newspapers, Inc
Contact:  http://www.njherald.com/news/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2162
Author: Stephen J. Novak
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/testing.htm (Drug Test)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth)

MOST ACCEPT SPARTA DRUG TESTS

SPARTA - When Sparta High School Principal Richard Lio  presented a
plan in April for a random drug testing  program for the district -- a
first for Sussex County  public schools -- he told the Board of
Education to  expect questions and criticism.

The plan was adopted about three weeks ago, setting the  stage for the
program to be in place by September, but  school officials have not
yet met with the level of  resistance they thought awaited them.

"I thought this might be one of those things where we  do the right
thing but get beat up (for it)," Board  President Michael Schiavoni
said Friday. "But that has  not been the case."

A public information session about the testing program,  held just a
few days after the plan was approved, saw  only a handful of parents
in attendance. Questions  written and submitted prior to and during
the  presentation, most of them informational in nature,  were
addressed. In meetings leading up to the board's  approval, there was
very little public discussion on  the topic.

A few negative comments have come out, but there has  been no
organized opposition or threats of legal  action. For the most part,
Schiavoni said, "people have  generally been supportive."

But that does not mean everyone is satisfied.

"It saddens me that there isn't more resistance," said  Fred DeSena,
Sparta resident and father of a Sparta  High School student.

DeSena objects to the program "based on constitutional  rights,"
mainly the Fourth Amendment, which defines  "the right of the people
to be secure ... against  unreasonable searches and seizures."

"I do believe that if they are going to take blood or  urine from a
body, that is a violation," DeSena said.  "They've singled out a group
of people and are asking  them to forfeit their constitutional
protections and  rights."

The program, as presented to the board and the public,  requires high
school students involved with sports or  extracurricular activities or
who wish to drive to  school on their own to enter into a "pool" where
they  will be assigned numbers -- participation at the middle  school
level will be strictly voluntary. Students whose  numbers are randomly
selected over the course of the  school year will provide saliva and
urine samples which  would be tested for the presence of illegal substances.

The issue has gone as far as the U.S. Supreme Court  when parents in
some school districts nationwide  challenged that the "testing pool"
was  unconstitutional. But school administrators have said  that the
policy was always upheld by the courts  whenever challenged.

"It has been tested, and it can definitely be justified  legally," Lio
told parents at the information session.  When asked how it can be
justified morally, he  responded, "If we're truly a community, we must
address  this (drug) issue."

DeSena still disagrees with the method. "It's  hypocritical for the
school to teach these kids about  their 'inalienable rights' and then
try and take them  away," he said. "I'm of the opinion that the
Constitution is chipped away at daily.

"I would hope that the people who have been elected to  these
positions (on the board) would consider these  things I'm bringing up
now."

But this program is one the board was in favor of from  the moment Lio
presented it in April. Schiavoni  commended the administration,
particularly Lio, for  research into the issue and said that now is
the best  time to institute such a program.

"We have had the (police) dogs go through the school  and right now,
drugs are at a very low level," he said.  "The time to do this is now,
not when you have a bigger  problem."

A presentation to the board earlier this year by the  Sussex County
Center for Prevention and Counseling told  of a need for more
stringent drug policies and  deterrents, especially at the middle
school level where  national surveys have shown increasing numbers of
students abusing over-the-counter and prescription  medications. When
Sparta's program was first discussed,  Becky Carlson, director of the
center, called the new  policy "a piece of the puzzle."

However, the American Civil Liberties Union has  historically opposed
random drug testing programs  generally because of its perceived
unconstitutionality.  A letter to a Williamsburg, Va., school board
dated  Feb. 2006, urged the local officials to reject a  program
similar to Sparta's on the grounds that "there  is no evidence
indicating that (random student drug  testing) actually deters drug
use," among other issues.  That school board decided to go with a
strictly  voluntary program one month later.

But one of the points administrators and board members  have used is
that the program is not meant to be  punitive and "catch" students in
the act, but rather to  deter students who may otherwise be "on the
fence" in  social situations, a much more difficult statistic to
calculate since only about 20 percent of the pool could  realistically
be tested over a year, administrators  have said. In answer to one
question during the  information session, Lio said, "The student who
is  curious or a casual user will probably stop. The hard  line
student, probably not. But it doesn't mean we give  up on them."

The testing program is meant to supplement the  established drug
policy. Students who test positive,  after a confirmation from an
independent laboratory,  will be removed from their chosen activities
and will  receive counseling. Unless they are caught using  illegal
substances on school property, the typical drug  policy punishments do
not apply.

The state Department of Education has left it "in the  hands of the
school districts, whether or not they want  to do it," said spokesman
Jon Zlock. A proposal to  require the inclusion of a voluntary random
testing  program will be decided upon, in conjunction with the  state
Legislature later this month.

Sparta's plan already includes voluntary participation  at the middle
school level and for any high school  students who do not fall into
the mandatory category.  All participation is subject to parental
approval, but  the parents of athletes, such as DeSena, may face a
moral dilemma.

While DeSena staunchly opposes the program, he said his  son, a member
of the track team, has no problems with  it. But if DeSena decides not
to consent to inclusion  in the testing pool, his son will not be able
to run  track, which makes for a difficult decision.

"At this time, I would say I would not sign it," DeSena  said. "But if
we run into a conflict, I may give in."

Based on talks Lio has given to the high school classes  about the
program, a majority of the students at the  high school seem to agree
with DeSena's son, the  principal said. One sophomore girl was present
at the  June school board meeting for a discussion about the
cheerleading program, but also took a moment to tell  the board that
the program gives students "a reason to  say 'no.'"

The annual cost of the program is estimated to run  between $4,750 and
$5,250, mostly for administering the  tests and paperwork. According
to the approved plan,  there will be one designated administrator who
will  have access to students' names and pool numbers and the  school
nurse will be the only one to handle the test  samples. Positive tests
will be sent to an outside  laboratory for confirmation.

A similar policy has also been suggested that would  apply to district
faculty, staff and administrators.  Officials and spokespeople from
several organizations,  including the state School Boards Association
and the  New Jersey Education Association, are unaware of any  such
policy already in existence, and Sparta is still  only researching the
policy at this point, Schiavoni  said.
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MAP posted-by: Derek