Pubdate: Sat, 11 Jan 2014
Source: News Herald (Panama City, FL)
Copyright: 2014 The News Herald
Contact:  http://www.newsherald.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1018
Author: Jacqueline Bostick

SHOULD STUDENTS BE DRUG TESTED?

PANAMA CITY -- At 21 years old, Megan Griffith is in her sixth year of
random drug testing.

"The first time it ever happened," she said, "I didn't do anything
wrong so I wasn't nervous, but it was nerve-racking."

The Gulf Coast State College Commodore has been playing softball since
age 3, she said, and tested under random drug screening since her
freshman year at Science Hills High School in Tennessee.

She hasn't done drugs but believes drug screening is harmless and
could prepare students for a career.

"You just worry about things: What if they mix it up? What if there's
a false positive? If I would be criminalized when I didn't do
anything?" she said. "Because, you know, there are serious
implications for testing positive for drugs."

Athletes at Gulf Coast State College receive scholarships ranging from
$20,000 to $30,000. The college's athletic department randomly drug
tests 20 percent of the athletes in each sport year-round. Athletes in
each sport go through the process two to three times yearly, and
scholarships are lost if a student tests positive twice.

Of 74 to 80 student athletes that participate in sports annually, one
student failed a drug test last year and two students the year prior,
according to Gregory Wolfe, GCSC athletic director. In the 18 years as
athletic director, the highest number of athletes to fail random drug
testing in a single year was five.

"You would think that we have bunches of them [but] we just don't,"
Wolfe said, noting athletes consider the loss of scholarships.
"There's a lot at risk."

Griffith has been tested twice in the past three semesters. She hasn't
been on a team in which a team member tested positive for drugs, she
said.

"I think maybe the fear of being caught" would stop some students from
using drugs, she said. "But for people who are going to do drugs, they
are going to do it anyway. If sports were something you are focused
on, you wouldn't do something that would inhibit you from competing."

Bay District Schools

Several Central Panhandle school districts -- including Santa Rosa,
Holmes, Jackson, Washington and Escambia -- already randomly test a
portion of their student populations, primarily athletes. And at a
fall workshop, Bay District School Board members discussed random drug
screening of students.

Bay's sample policy mirrors the Escambia County School District's
student drug testing policy, said board member Joe Wayne Walker, who
recommended the policy. Walker said random drug testing would deter
students from using drugs and correct, rather than punish, those who
test positive.

Since the workshop, Walker maintains drugs are a problem on campuses;
however, randomly drug testing students is just one of several options
in getting drugs out of schools. The School Board has dropped his
proposal and is moving forward with education and prevention
recommendations.

"I personally want the drug dog funded again so we can help our
(school resource deputies) keep the marijuana off the campuses,"
Walker said, referring to a drug-sniffing dog provided by Bay County
Sheriff's Office.

Last school year, 26 of 50 (52 percent) student expulsion cases at the
school district were drug-related, the highest since the 2004-2005
school year, when 49 of 92 (53 percent) of students were expelled for
the same reason.

"I think the best way to go into this is with prevention," Walker
said. "We're looking into the process of using drug counseling within
our schools for education purposes."

Superintendent Bill Husfelt believes a drug problem exists in the
country and "I don't think we are (any) different than anywhere else
in America."

"I don't think that drug testing would solve (the drug problem)
because we'd only be testing a certain group of people, and I don't
think that would be fair or appropriate," Husfelt said. "We're looking
at doing a proactive and preventive approach along with
counseling."

Drug tests cost on average $50 to $100 each. Considering the number of
students active in extracurricular activities out of the district's
roughly 26,000 students, the process could be expensive for taxpayers.

"I don't think the cost was as big an issue as how you are going to
select who you are going to test," Husfelt said, noting he "firmly"
believes randomly drug testing students is "not appropriate."

Currently, if students are suspected of using drugs, school
administration conducts an investigation to determine the disciplinary
action, if any.

The school district has secured a one-year, $15,000 contract with Life
Management for drug abuse counseling services, Husfelt said. Parents
and school staff who suspect a student is using drugs can refer that
student to the counseling services as an alternative option to
suspension or expulsion.

Counseling is not free; however, Life Management will accept
insurance, Husfelt said.

"It's another of level of help," he added.

In school districts across the country, random drug testing became
more common after the U.S. Supreme Court held in 2002 that an Oklahoma
school district had reasonable cause to issue a random drug test
policy for students who participate in competitive extracurricular
activities.

"Because this policy reasonably serves the School District's important
interests in detecting and preventing drug use among its students, we
hold that it is constitutional," Justice Clarence Thomas wrote in the
court's opinion.

Later in the opinion, Justice Thomas wrote that the Fourth Amendment,
which prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures, are different in
public schools than elsewhere because schools have a custodial
responsibility over students as guardians.

Escambia County's experience

The Escambia County School District, which was cited by Bay School
Board members as a model, randomly drug tests about 10 percent of its
middle and high school student population involved in extracurricular
activities or who park on campus.

Random drug testing is administered weekly; a drug-sniffing dog visits
campuses daily and student-led groups organize monthly drug awareness
activities as part of the school district's drug awareness program.

"Obviously drugs are a problem in our society today and you want to do
everything you can to keep them off of your campus," said Escambia
Superintendent Marcus Thomas. "Random drug testing is one more way to
bring accountability."

Five years ago, the district expelled 220 to 230 students, Thomas
said, noting the majority of expulsions were drug-related. Last year,
71 students were expelled.

"We've been working to bring our expulsion rate down for the other
events," he said, "but illegal drugs is still something that neither I
nor my School Board won't have much tolerance for."

He said he was surprised that on average only 3 = to 4 percent of
students tested positive for drugs. He had expected 10 to 15 percent
would test positive at the start of the program three years ago.

"Random drug testing alone will not be the answer," he added. "That's
why we put together a comprehensive drug awareness program." 
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MAP posted-by: Jo-D