|
 |
Drug testing not meant to punish, parents told
|
| By Ryan D. Wilson, Staff reporter |
January 29, 2009 |
|
Administrators with USD-379 and a representative from Sports Safe Testing answered questions about the random drug testing policy now in effect and walked parents through what their kids would experience when being tested.
The goal of the program is to help kids who doing drugs get the help they need, not to punish them, parents were told.
"I think everyone knows we have significant data that shows we've got a problem in our community," Superintendent Mike Folks said. "I hope we would pull on the same rope in the same direction and help our kids and help our community be drug free."
Christopher Franz, Sports Safe, said his father, a physician and a FCA leader, founded the company in 1996 in a Powell, Ohio, a community a lot like Clay Center in that it is a largely rural community. The company was founded after a kid dealing drugs was killed by another kid over a drug debt.
The company does drug testing for over 70 school districts, including several in Kansas: Galena, Madison, Scott City and Ulysses.
The 11 panel test Sports Safe will conduct on behalf of the district tests for includes alcohol, marijuana, amphetamines, barbiturates, benzodiazapens, cocaine, Ecstasy, methadone, opiates, phencyclidine (PCP), and propoxyphene. The company can also test for anabolic steroids, LSD and nicotine and test for those on a reasonable suspicion basis because they are more expensive and not seen that often, Franz said.
By policy, the district can test up to 20 percent of the students enrolled in extracurricular activities every other week. A parent can also voluntarily enroll their child in the drug testing paid for by the district even if their child is not enrolled in an extracurricular activity.
All kids who signed the consent form to be tested when signing up for an extracurricular activity are eligible for testing. The district provides the list of these names to the company, who randomly select kids from this list.
Kids are removed from class "three or four" at a time so they miss as little class time as possible, Folks said. CCCHS assistant principal Bud Young, a coach or other staff member will identify the students the company has selected to ensure they test the right kid, Franz said.
Students are given a sample bottle and taken to a rest room where they provide a urine sample. There are no witness in the rest room with the student, but steps are taken to ensure a non-diluted sample is given, including putting a bluing agent in the toilets and requiring the sample be within a temperature of 90 to 100 degrees.
Students who provide a sample not within this range are asked to provide another sample because it usually happens because "they were shy and sat in the bathroom too long," Franz said.
"I had a kid give a sample four times because he finally gave one that was an acceptable temperature," he said. "I don't know where he was keeping it all, but he had a lot of it."
Students are held up to an hour and if they fail to provide an acceptable sample they are provided an at off-site location where they can provide a sample at a later time.
Students witness the sample being divided into two containers and initial them on the bottle. A chain of custody of the sample is documented as it is taken to the lab off site for testing.
Parents are notified before testing when the district tests a students on reasonable suspicion of use, but not before a random drug test, Folks said. However, the district will send information home with the student following a random test to let parents know they've been tested. Refusal to submit to the test will be treated as a positive test.
The company tests for drugs by first doing a test that looks for each of the 11 substances then confirms a positive match with a test specific to the substance found. The company also looks for substances used to mask results.
The company also considers second-hand exposure. Regardless of how much of a substance is found, parents will be notified of a match, but if it's below a certain range the school district won't be notified.
Negative tests takes 24 to 48 hours to come back. Because positive tests require an additional confirmation test, they take 48 to 72 hours. The company will first notify parents of a positive test, then the school district. But if the company is unable to reach parents after a couple days, the school district will be notified.
One of the most common positive tests occurs when parents give a their prescription pain medication to a child that hasn't been prescribed.
"(Prescription pain medication) is going to come up positive," Franz said. "I can't stress that enough -- don't give your child your prescribed medication, get a doctor and give them their own prescription. You'll have one student sitting out being penalized because of it, it always happens."
If a selected student happens to be absent, they will put on the list for the next drug test and never know they were selected the first time.
Law enforcement are not contacted of positive results and won't turn over records of results unless they receive a court order or subpoena to. However, students will be subject to additional testing and some sort of intervention to encourage them to cease drug use, Folks said.
School Resource Officer Allen Brumfield said Kansas law only distinguishes possession of certain drugs as illegal and only consuming alcohol is illegal. Having consumed other drugs is not illegal.
"It's not illegal to have it in their system, but if they come in with a bag of it -- that's possession," he said. "It's only against the law if they have it in their possession."
In addition to voluntarily enrolling students in the district's drug testing program, parents can also bring their kids to the law enforcement center to test for three drugs without penalty. These tests cost "a couple bucks" and much less than the at-home drug test kits, Brumfield said.
In answering questions, officials said:
-- Things that won't screen as positive include Sudefed, over the counter drugs and inhalants.
-- Things that do screen as positive but not enough to be considered drug use include poppy seeds, second hand exposure, and prescription drugs for which the child has a prescription. Parents will contacted to confirm if this has happened and a physician may be contacted to confirm a prescription.
-- Students won't know if a parent has voluntarily enrolled a student for a drug test, they will be treated the same as the students who are randomly selected.
-- A student who tests positive won't be punished academically, but may be suspended from or not allowed to participate in extracurricular activities.
-- The policy in its entirety can be found in the student handbook. Parents can also see it online at www.usd379.org or get a copy by contacting Bud Young at the high school, 632-2131, or e-mail, budyoung@usd379.org.
|
|
©Clay Center Dispatch 2009
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
Steve R |
Jan, 29 2009 |
| |
Are teachers, employees, coaches, staff included? Because I think they should be afforded the same opportunity for help as we are giving the students.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
