DRUG TESTING IN LIMBO
By James Moate Endeavor News

Stuart Knade

Cameron County School Board is no closer to adopting a student drug-testing policy following last week's meeting.

Legal issues that have clouded the process were discussed with Stuart Knade, chief counsel with the Pa. School Boards Assn.

"The question is a thorny one," said Knade. "On the one hand there are the parents who have had (traumatic) experiences saying that you need it, and on the other hand you have parents who are against it saying it's too invasive of their privacy."

Knade added that "dozens" of Pennsylvania's 501 school districts have adopted drugtesting policies.

Some parents have spoken out against one proposal to subject only students who are involved in extracurricular activities to random testing, similar to a policy that took effect this year at Coudersport.

Many believe the entire student body should be subject to random testing.

Roger Neyman said that as an emergency medical technician he has witnessed an increase in drug-related health issues. He argued that the district should not penalize students who participate in extracurriculars.

But Knade said there could be legal obstacles to subjecting the entire student body to testing.

"Courts in Pennsylvania have made it very unclear if you can test students involuntarily," said Knade. "There is no clear law telling you that you can't, but you have to build a case. You have to demonstrate that there's a reason to believe that drugs are a problem and provide evidence that there's significant drug use among students."

The type of testing that might be implemented at Cameron County also remains under discussion.

Knade pointed out that urinalysis will detect the presence of drugs for several days after they're used, but it is a more intrusive approach. Oral swabs are less intrusive, but they only reveal drugs ingested more recently.

School Superintendent Clyde Moate emphasized that the intentions of the district are "not to punish students, but to offer them a means of support to address their issues with substances."

School board members will continue their discussions at an upcoming policy meeting.