Drug-testing approved for high school

School board OKs suspicion-based program to be implemented right away

By RICHARD HANNERS / Whitefish Pilot

A suspicion-based drug-testing policy for all students at Whitefish High School was approved by the school district board of trustees Aug. 12 by a 5-2 vote.

A second drug-test policy, which would have created an opt-in, voluntary, random-testing policy for students who participate in extracurricular activities, was tabled by the board..

Under the suspicion-based policy, the school district may test students who are suspected of being under the influence of drugs or alcohol while on school grounds or at school-sponsored events. A specially-trained educator, counselor, school nurse or educator will judge whether reasonable suspicion exists.

School officials will call parents to get permission to test a suspected student for drugs. If a parent gives their approval, the test will be administered right away by trained personnel. Students who test positive will be suspended for three days for a first offense.

School district superintendent Jerry House said the new policy will be implemented right away.

"The people who will implement the policy have already been selected, and we're lining up the training," he said.

The school board will take a second look at the opt-in testing policy later this year. Trustees voted to appoint a standing committee to further investigate voluntary, random drug-testing. Fern, the board chairman, will appoint members to the committee, which will report monthly to the school board.

House said the committee will also look at what other school districts across the country are doing with random drug-testing. One idea is to have outside agencies, such as licensed professional alcohol-and-drug counselors, handle student cases.

"Who would the parents want to hear from — a school principal or an outside professional?" House asked, citing privacy concerns.

The feasibility of such a program in Whitefish hinges on the availability of funding and professional services in the Flathead, House said.

Suspicion-based testing is less expensive than random testing because fewer students are likely to be tested. Funding to cover 472 students under the new policy, including training and tests, has been raised by Dr. John Kalbfleisch and other Whitefish citizens, House said. North Valley Hospital has also agreed to waive the cost of a second test if a student needs additional testing.

Concerns were raised by community members at the school board meeting about the effect of the new policy on students who are first-offenders. A person's high school record could come back to haunt them many years later when they apply for a job, Whitefish therapist Andy Hudak said.

"Kids are going to make mistakes," Laura Strong told the board. "We need to catch them and teach them so they can go on and be productive … instead of sending them to law enforcement before kids realize what they've done to their future."

Only about 10 percent of students who use drugs are chemically dependent, Hudak said. A first-time offender might just be someone who experimented once and got caught. Students who test positive a second time, on the other hand, are more likely to be habitual users, he said.

School board trustee Shannon Hanson also expressed concern about how first-time offenders will be treated. He and trustee Ruth Harrison voted against adopting the new policy.

Harrison said she favored an amendment that would involve parents and a medical professional more so than school officials for first-time offenders.

Details on how that would be accomplished would need to be ironed out, she said, but the goal was to afford a level of privacy to first-time offenders. A drug offense on a student's record could affect eligibility for scholarships and federal student loans, Harrison said.

Not every positive drug test will be turned over to law enforcement, House told the board. As it stands now, the school district is obligated to report some cases. School officials must report students caught with drugs or alcohol on school property to the police department, he said.

But the question of how students will be searched was not clearly spelled out in the policy, Fern said. Students have a right of refusal and will be sent home, but Fern wasn't sure if suspected students' lockers or cars will be searched. Furthermore, a breathalyzer provides immediate results on alcohol-use, but other drug-testing takes time.

"A student's expectation of privacy is less on school grounds than it would be for an adult in the outside world," Fern said.

Several students each year are suspended for three days for drug use, Fern pointed out, so the suspicion-based policy is a continuation of what the school district already does — with the added tool of drug-testing.

Fern also said he wants the district to look at extending some type of random-testing policy to middle school students. The opt-in policy that was tabled is more comprehensive because it includes counseling and other tools that could help middle school students deal with the "intense peer pressure," he said.

"Leaving the middle school out of this seems crazy," Fern said.