Pubdate: Fri, 25 Jul 2014
Source: Pocono Record, The (Stroudsburg, PA)
Copyright: 2014 Pocono Mountains Media Group
Contact: http://drugsense.org/url/PEKmDRjJ
Website: http://www.poconorecord.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4529
Author: Beth Brelje
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?225 (Students - United States)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/testing.htm (Drug Testing)

DELAWARE VALLEY STUDENTS WHO REFUSE RANDOM DRUG TEST WILL BE 
SUSPENDED, POLICY SAYS

A surprising detail was revealed when the Delaware Valley School 
Board recently made a minor language revision to its controversial 
drug testing policy.

The board removed the method of blood testing from the policy because 
the method is not used at Delaware Valley.

The surprising detail? Students who refuse a random test will be 
considered insubordinate, be suspended from school and the refusal 
will be treated as a positive test, district Superintendent John Bell said.

That change was in effect this past school year.

The policy was challenged in the Pike County Court of Common Pleas 
and banned in July 2011 through a temporary injunction after a family 
represented by the ACLU of Pennsylvania objected to the policy, 
calling it a violation of students' civil rights.

Random, suspicionless drug testing has been the district's policy 
since 1996 and it has been challenged twice in court.

The policy requires all students who drive to school or participate 
in any co-curricular activities to submit to a urine test.

Previously the test was administered to each student once when they 
joined an activity. Then once a month, 5 percent of students in the 
pool marked for testing were randomly tested.

The board has abolished the initial testing at the beginning of the 
year or season and increased monthly random testing to 10 percent of 
the students in the testing pool.

Before students start an activity, they and their parents are given a 
paper to sign agreeing to participate in the drug policy as a 
condition of participation. Refusal at this point is acceptable, but 
after the agreement is signed, a refusal is treated as a positive result.

Students in grades 6-12 are tested.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom