Random School Drug Testing Kits
School Drug Testing Programs
This week, Vista's two comprehensive high schools will begin randomly drug testing all students involved with competitive extracurricular activities, officials said.
Though Vista Unified School District administrators say most students and parents support the program, some have expressed concern that it violates teens' right to privacy.
"Vista Unified has gone way over and above how they should have gone about this program," said Royce Ramswick, who has a daughter attending Rancho Buena Vista. "They are not the parents. We pay them to educate, not to police the children."
Vista High School Principal Larry White said he thinks it's natural for parents to have concerns about the new program. However, he said most parents feel more comfortable with the testing after they receive more information about it.
"I think anyone who's a parent, we're concerned with our children," he said, "so we're going to have questions."
Between the two schools ---- Vista High and Rancho Buena Vista ---- about 2,500 students are initially expected to be in the random testing pool. The number could go up as parents whose students aren't involved in extracurricular activities choose to place their children in the program.
Several students fraternizing at Rancho Buena Vista during lunch Friday said they welcome the program.
"It's a good idea," said junior Frankie Vazquez, echoing the sentiments of the other students. "It's about time they started it.
"Vazquez, who will be in the random pool as part of the school's marching band, said he thinks most high school students support the testing.
The testing, which will be paid for with a federal grant from the U.S. Department of Education, is needed because of a "significant problem" with drugs at the schools, White said.
In a districtwide survey administered last year, 36 percent of 11th graders said they had used drugs and 22 percent said they had been drunk or high on school property.
"That's not something that we're proud of, but that's a fact," White said.
Support and opposition
Interest in random drug testing at Vista Unified's high schools was piqued last year when Rancho Buena Vista started a pilot program, testing its football team.
Principal Richard Alderson said he considers the program a success. Only about 120 students were tested in the pilot program, about eight to 10 a week. In that time, only two students tested positive for drug use, Alderson said.
The program was so successful for the football team that the wrestling and baseball teams both asked to be included, Alderson said.
The Vista Unified school board voted unanimously at its Feb. 16 meeting to start the program. Trustees were very supportive of the program.
Ramswick was the only parent to speak about the testing at the meeting.
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"This is unreal, the apathy in this neighborhood," Ramswick said Thursday. "I don't think half of the parents even know what it's about."
Alderson said has only heard from a couple of parents who are against the testing, though he knows there is opposition.
"People have some real strong feelings about this," he said.
Some parents and activists question whether the testing will actually keep teens away from drugs or simply keep them out of extracurricular activities.
"Most schools that do test their students have testing as an extra excuse to say no," said Tom Angell, a spokesman for Washington D.C.-based Students for Sensible Drug Policy "But really what it does is it gives at-risk students an excuse to say no from participating in those activities in the first place."
Pat Moramarco, athletic director at Vista High, said he doesn't expect any significant drop because of the testing in the number of students involved in extracurricular activities.
"We want to try to do what's best for the kids," Moramarco said.
Parents have also complained that the district is twisting their arms with the program since they can either sign slips giving the district permission to test their children or remove the teens from all extracurricular activities.
If parents are unsure whether they want to consent to the testing, they can request a form from their child's school that will give them until May 6 to decide. Otherwise, the consent forms are due Monday.
How it works
Each school held a meeting this month to offer parents information about the program and its implementation.
Once a week, a computer will randomly select between eight and 12 students at each school based on an identification number the school will assign. Throughout the week, the students will be taken out of class and tested for alcohol, marijuana, opiates, cocaine, methamphetamine, steroids and PCP. The urine tests will take plan in a private restroom with a certified lab technician.
Students would not be punished until at least their second positive test result, the letter states. Refusal to take the test will be considered a positive test for drugs.
With a first offense, the parents will be alerted and counseling offered to the student, who would remain eligible to participate in extracurricular activities. Only the student, the school nurse and the parents are notified after a first offense.
The site administrator is notified only after a student fails a second test in the same year. With the second offense, the student will be suspended from his or her activity for five days or at least one competition. After 30 days, that student must test clean twice before returning to the activity.
If a student tests positive three times in one year, he or she will be kicked off the team or club for the remainder of the year."We're hoping that deterrents are better than punishment, Principal Alderson said.
The testing will be paid for by a $211,000 federal grant, which the district has secured for two and a half years. If the program is successful, the district will likely apply for it again when it expires, Moramarco said.
One drug test can cost as much as $20, or $100 for a steroids test.
According to the grant, which the district applied for in August, the district can only use the money for testing.
Only four districts in the state have received this grant. Oceanside Unified is the only other school district in the county awarded the grant, though that district only tests its competitive athletes. Nationwide, 55 districts will get about $7.5 million for the program.
Source: North County Times - Escondido,CA,USA
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