Pubdate: Thu, 05 Jun 2008
Source: Daily Texan (U of TX at Austin, Edu)
Copyright: 2008 Daily Texan
Contact:  http://www.dailytexanonline.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/115
Author: Teresa Mioli
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/testing.htm (Drug Test)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth)

TEXAS SCHOOLS RECEIVE FUNDS FOR DRUG TESTS

Six Texas school districts were awarded nearly $800,000  in federal
grants Wednesday for random student drug  testing.

Texas is one of 20 states receiving the grants, which  total $5.8
million nationwide, from the White House  Office of National Drug
Control Policy and the U.S.  Department of Education.

The grants are intended for programs that test student  athletes,
students engaging in competitive,  extracurricular or school-sponsored
activities, or  students who have opted into the random drug-testing
program, according to a release from the Office of  National Drug
Control Policy.

Last year, six other Texas school districts were  awarded about
$620,000 for the same program.

Of the 1,030 school districts in Texas, more than 300  conduct random
student drug testing, said Barbara  Williams, spokeswoman for the
Texas Association of  School Boards.

The Victoria Independent School District, which was  awarded $178,290,
applied for the grant in February.  The district's Drug Abuse
Prevention Coordinator,  Roberto Gonzalez Jr., said the district has
had a  random drug-testing program for two years as a  prevention
strategy to deter students from drug use.

Drug testing costs amount to $10 to $50 per individual,  paid for by
the school district, according to the  Office of National Drug Control
Policy's Random Student  Drug Testing Web site.

Gonzalez said there has not been a significant decrease  in student
drug use since implementation of the  program, which primarily targets
high school students.  However, he said he thinks the grant will
increase the  program's effectiveness.

"The drug testing was the only strategy that we were  using, and not
only that, it was at a much lower level  because of the funding that
was available," Gonzalez  said. "It really wasn't strong enough, or
had the power  behind it, that now we can have."

According to the latest U.S. Department of Health and  Human Services'
National Survey on Drug Use and Health,  taken in 2006, 9.8 percent of
12- to 17-year-old youths  were illicit drug users, with the highest
percentage  using marijuana.
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