By Anne Ryman
The Arizona Republic
June 28, 2002 12:00:00
http://www.arizonarepublic.com/special12/articles/0628schooldrugs28.html
While local schools officials are pleased with the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling
Thursday that upholds drug testing of students who want to participate in extracurricular
activities, they're not about to rush out and start testing.
"I'd rather not have to violate a student's right to privacy," said
Charlotte Patterson, vice president of the Chandler School Board. "I would
much rather we didn't test unless there was a reason to suspect a student was
using drugs."
Gilbert School District is not expected to implement drug testing either.
"It's our perception that when (students) are really busy in extracurricular activities, that keeps them from being involved in some other things," said Clyde Dangerfield, Gilbert's assistant superintendent of business services.
Dangerfield does not rule out the possibility, however. If school district officials became suspicious of drug activity in a certain school or a group, the district could exercise its right to test, he said.
The state Department of Education doesn't track which school districts allow drug testing of students, but those that do test their athletes include Paradise Valley and Show Low.
The court ruling applies to more than athletes. It includes such extracurricular activities as academic teams, cheerleading, pompon, choir, band, Future Farmers of America and Future Homemakers of America.
Paradise Valley, which serves students in northeast Phoenix and parts of Scottsdale, was the first district in the state to adopt a random drug-testing policy for athletes in 1991. Tom Horne, Paradise Valley School Board president, said they have no plans to start testing non-athletes.
Horne said he hopes other school districts will follow their lead on drug testing.
Paradise Valley began testing athletes, Horne said, because of the temptation for students to use steroids to enhance their athletic performance. In 1994, the Paradise Valley district's program was thrown out as unconstitutional by a U.S. District Court, based on invasion of privacy and the absence of probable cause. It was reinstated in 1995 when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that schools have a special obligation to safeguard against the dangers of drugs.
Erica George, 17, a senior at Mountain Pointe High School in Ahwatukee, said she would not mind taking a drug test.
"Since I don't do drugs, I think that's fine," she said.
Robert Miller, a school board member for the Tempe Union High School District, said random drug testing seems like a good idea, but he has some reservations.
"A school or school district has a responsibility to students and staff to maintain safety," he said. "If we say we want to subject students to this, are we not under the same obligation to say that our teachers and staff are also subject to random testing for the same reason?"
Parent Carol Whaley, who is the booster club president at Phoenix Union's Alhambra High School, said drug testing is not a bad idea because it's required in many professional sports.
Reporters Cadonna Peyton, Mel Melendez, Betty Reid and Lindsey Collom contributed
to this article.