Pubdate: Tue, 23 Dec 2008
Source: Las Vegas Sun (NV)
Copyright: 2008 Las Vegas Sun, Inc
Contact:  http://www.lasvegassun.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/234
Author: Jared Harmon
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?225 (Students - United States)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/testing.htm (Drug Testing)

GREEN VALLEY HIGH STAFF LAUDS BENEFITS OF DRUG-TESTING PROGRAM

The random drug-testing program at Green Valley High has seen a drop 
in the number of students found with drugs in their system in the 
year since its inception last winter.

With 165 students tested since the beginning of the school year, 
administrators credit the program for a 50 percent drop in positive tests.

The first public school in the state to launch the 
individually-funded program, the school has tested roughly 15 
students per week and has reported four positive tests this school 
year - none from athletes.

Last year, in the spring semester, the school reported eight positive 
tests, six from athletes.

Green Valley also tests students in orchestra, choir, band and 
performing arts. Green Valley Principal Jeff Horn said reactions from 
parents, teachers and coaches have been favorable and feels the low 
number of positive tests shows the value of the program. He'd 
eventually like to test all students.

"I'd like to have zero positives but I'm a realist and I know how 
prevalent drugs are in our society in all age groups," Horn said.

Green Valley senior football player Nick Libonati said he has been 
tested three times and sees the program as a good influence.

"I like that we're holding ourselves to a higher standard and staying 
clean," Libonati said. "I think it's better for us and it reflects 
well on the school that we've had so few positive tests."

Since launching the program last January, Green Valley has been 
joined by Coronado and Silverado which have begun similar programs.

While Green Valley funds its program through private donations and 
application fees included in students' annual athletic packets, 
Silverado and Coronado operate solely from athletic packet revenue. 
They conduct fewer tests per month and limit their random selections 
to athletes.

Silverado has conducted 64 tests with three positives while Coronado 
reported about 70 tests with two students testing positive.

Students who test positive are given a six-week athletic suspension, 
per Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association guidelines. The 
suspension can be reduced to two weeks with the completion of a 
substance abuse program.

"I think the program is going well and accomplishing what we set out 
to do," Coronado Assistant Principal Sam Johnson said. "Things have 
been running smoothly. The only real problem has been funding."

Ray Mathis, the Clark County School District's executive director of 
instructional support and student activities, said while the results 
from the three schools are promising, a move to a district-wide 
program is unlikely.

"As far as I know, nothing has been discussed beyond the current 
situation of allowing each school to decide for themselves," Mathis 
said. "The main concern is funding. I don't know that the district 
could support that kind of program district-wide especially with the 
budgetary concerns we're already facing."

Johnson estimates the cost per year between $2,500 and $3,000 or 
about $30 per test.

"We felt a program like this was what's best for our school and our 
students, but if three schools are doing it I think they all should," 
Silverado Assistant Principal Jerry Cornell said. "It should be all 
or nothing. Right now our students are being held to a higher standard."

Allen Lichtenstein, general counsel for the American Civil Liberties 
Union of Southern Nevada, said the organization has received several 
calls from concerned parents who feel the testing is an invasion of privacy.

"We believe there is nothing quite as useless as random drug-testing 
for football players when there's not enough money for teachers and 
books," Lichtenstein said. "It's a feel-good program that violates 
basic privacy rights. This was our position last year and it 
continues to be our position."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom