Pubdate: Tue, 29 Jul 2008 Source: Sarasota Herald-Tribune (FL) Copyright: 2008 Sarasota Herald-Tribune Contact: http://www.heraldtribune.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/398 Author: Tom Lyons Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?225 (Students - United States) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/testing.htm (Drug Testing) STUDENT DRUG TESTS WORTHY OF DEBATE Required tests for use of marijuana, cocaine, heroin and other illegal drugs for certain groups of public school students almost became policy in Manatee County without so much as a public discussion. Whether that policy would be a good idea or not is a worthy debate. But what's amazing is that the debate was almost skipped and the policy installed while all but under the radar. Even some School Board members had only a vague notion of it, and knew only that a grant had been explored. But the grant had been won and a urine-on-demand policy was virtually set to be sprung on students this fall. Jane Pfeilsticker learned of it from the Herald-Tribune. She's a School Board member. After a reporter told her about the plan to randomly choose as many as 1,000 varsity athletes and cheerleaders annually for surprise urine tests -- which have nothing to do with steroids or athletics, by the way -- she said she'd make sure that becomes a topic of board discussion first. Good for her, and others on the board who had the same reaction. But then there was member Barbara Harvey's reaction. She told a reporter that she knew few details of the plan, but said she couldn't see how parents could object to drug tests on their kids. That's ignorance or an act to be dismissive of those who disagree. Lots and lots of parents have objected in lots of communities where similar drug-test programs have been proposed. There have been lawsuits over it. Many call it a government violation of privacy rights. The courts have generally ruled that suspicionless testing is legal if required only for students involved in non-required, after-school activities. And many parents say the value outweighs the objections. Random testing helps students resist peer pressure by providing a good excuse to say no to drugs, they say. Some communities say no to such programs, and some say yes. But I've never heard of one where there wasn't a spirited public discussion first. And the Manatee plan seems less fair than some, because it is aimed only at varsity athletes. Students in other extracurricular programs are inexplicably exempt. Does the school system not care so much if members of the band and chorus use cocaine? Are jocks now more suspect than musicians, or do school officials just care more about catching them? Whatever the thinking, I'm glad school officials now at least have to do some, and explain it. Oh, and maybe even listen to parents who might have an opinion. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom