Across the nation thousands of schools, including a handful in Montana, have adopted fortuitous drug testing with respect to students. Just this fall, Colstrip and Anaconda implemented random testing policies for extracurricular activities, space of time here in the Flathead, the Whitefish chide district has looked into a similar plan, and is distillatory considering it. Meanwhile, the district has implemented a suspicion-based rule that applies to all students, not just athletes.

Whether shifting to fortuitous testing or other methods, it’s clear that school officials are actively looking for new ways to combat what they distinguish as a growing drug problem, and the inclination is picking up steam in Montana.

Thus far, Whitefish Superintendent Jerry House has been pleased with the results of the suspicion-based policy. House said only four students in the whole territory, including a third-grader caught smoking marijuana, were disciplined under the new policy from one side the first quarter of the school year, which ended on Nov. 5. That number is less than a quarter of last drop down’s total of 18.

“Am I saying (drug and alcohol use) has stopped? No. I don’cheek by jowl care which high school you’re in, that’sitting going to continue,” House said. “But it being so that there’s in addition teeth in the policy: Whitefish school tract’s not going to put up with it. So yeah, you should have a lower number. I would sure hope so.”

The Whitefish school board approved the suspicion-based policy in August, while tabling a proposed random testing policy for students involved in activities. With the suspicion-based program, a student who is suspected of drug or alcohol use is called into a meeting with one of four trained interventionists at Whitefish High School: the activities monitor, principal, school nurse and assistant principal.

If the interventionist, who has been trained to identify signs of intoxication, concludes that reasonable suspicion exists, then the student’s parents are asked if a drug test can be administered. If the parents refuse, therefore the student is automatically hanging for three days adhering first offense. A bookish man who takes and fails the test enters counseling but is not suspended. Additional offenses result in suspensions.

“The big difference is that we wanted to make some change in. our student culture where it’s not OK to drink and it’s not OK to do drugs, but solemnize in mind the school cares touching you,” House said.

House said he has heard little complaint over the policy, though the district’s random testing proposal last spring was met with considerable opposition. House said the school is still discussing that policy, but not actively pursuing it at this time. But other Montana schools are, following in the footsteps of schools around the country that have taken advantage of two significant U.S. Supreme Court rulings.

In 1995, the Supreme Court ruled that schools have the right to randomly test athletes, even if they are not suspected of drug or alcohol use. Then in 2002, the court expanded its language to include all voluntary activities of a piece cheerleading, club and war of words. Following those rulings, thousands of schools around the nation have implemented random testing for students in activities, frequently with the federal financial alms.

Since 2003, the Department of Education has awarded $40 million in grants to tool or expand random testing policies in schools, and the Bush Administration has also set out of mind millions more for similar grants, according to the Office of National Drug Control Policy.

This fall, Colstrip and Anaconda joined a narrow elect of Montana schools that have random testing for students in extracurricular activities, while Butte has considered it. Anaconda’s Superintendent Tom Darnell worked previously in Missouri in which place he said many schools already have random testing. He believes the body is long overdue in Montana.

“In my esteem, there’s not a school district in the recite that shouldn’t have this policy,” Darnell said. “There’s everything to gain from this and nothing to lose.”

Darnell conceded that the operation is not cheap. Anaconda receives no federal grants and pays for the testing through its regular budget. And he said the policy has received some opposition, but countered: “The inspect point I take with parents is if your child is using drugs, why would you not fall short in to know that?”

A first-time offender faces a 30-day suspension from activities, a second-time offender gets 40 days and then the third offense expedient expulsion from every one of activities.

“Third strike you’re out,” Darnell said. “You’re done forever at Anaconda High School.”

Colstrip has had a random testing policy for extracurricular activities since 2003, Superintendent Harry Cheff said, but the district switched from using saliva samples to urine samples for high school students this year. Middle schoolers still do the saliva test. Cheff said the urine sample is considerably more effective.

Cheff said several parents have expressed concern completely the urine testing, but for the most part there has been little opposition. He noted that Colstrip is peculiar in that the major employers of the town are PPL Montana and Western Energy, which have mandatory drug testing policies. So the majority of the population, he said, is before that time accustomed to the process.

The district respects secrecy issues, Cheff said. Only the superintendent’s company has access to the students’ records and code enforcement isn’t notified. Coaches are told of a kid’s drug or alcohol use only in the case of suspension. Administrative officials, including Cheff, also are pure.

“I be moved it’s helped students from making unhealthy decisions,” Cheff said. “Because during the year there’session that chance that they’re going to exist sharp.”

Though the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled in countenance of random drug testing, local courts haven’t always been in agreement. A prominent example is Washington, where the state’s Supreme Court ruled earlier this year that random medicine testing in schools isn’face to face allowed under the state’s constitution. Also, when Montana’sitting three Democratic candidates for attorney general held a forum in Kalispell in May, each candidate, including eventual winner Steve Bullock, expressed skepticism that such a policy would stand up in the state’s Supreme Court if challenged.

It remains to be seen when, and granting that, Whitefish will seriously be attentive to stray testing once more, but discussion is sure to continue. Meanwhile, school officials in Colstrip are set to review its policy again in December, but Cheff is happy with how the program has worked so far.

“I’ll knock on forest, but as of today we haven’ been legally challenged forward this,” Cheff said.

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