PotShot

Marion School District 1 gets funds for random drug tests
Shireese M. Bell | Morning News Online | Apr 8, 2006

Marion School District 1 has become one of the 32 school districts in the nation to receive funding through a three-year Safe and Drug Free School and Community grant to implement a new mandatory, random and suspicionless drug and alcohol policy.

Students in grades 7 through 12 who play any school-sponsored sport are subject to random testing to help fight what Marion 1 Superintendent Dr. Cheryl Allread called a “significant community issue.”

Allread said she is proud to be in a school district where people have stepped forward to address this issue.

“I personally feel what we’re doing is a tiny step in battling the drug problem with our youth today,” she said. “Our school board, administrators, coaches, staff, parents and student athletes are to be commended.”
The school district will work with the Marion/Dillon County Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse to carry out the new policy.

School district officials say the policy was created for three reasons: to protect the health of student athletes; to negate peer pressure by giving student athletes a reason to say no to drugs and alcohol; and to identify and refer for treatment those student athletes who test positive for drug use.

Considering the dangers and threats of student drug use, they hope the drug policy will serve to deter inappropriate behaviors, Johnakin Middle School Principal Patrice Davis Holmes said.

W.T. O’Connor, executive director of the Marion/Dillon County Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse, said this drug-testing program places student athletes in a win-win situation.

“Our student athletes are highly visible and can be under significant pressure,” he said. “This is another tool which strengthens their resolve in saying no.”

Marion 1 athletic director and head football coach Marty McIntyre said the program would be piloted this spring, with full implementation beginning in the fall.

McIntyre said when a student takes a physical to participate in a sport, he or she will be given a consent form to be tested.

Once all the names of student athletes are taken, ID numbers are assigned to each name and those numbers are given to the commission.
He said someone from the commission could come on an unannounced day to administer the test.

“This policy is just a way to show kids healthy lifestyles,” he said. “The dread of being tested could be a deterrent, and obviously that deterrent factor is working.”

McIntyre said officials presented the policy, which he said was well-received, to junior and high school councils, faculties and other groups.

The policy requires the student athlete who has been selected by a computerized program to provide a urine sample, which is sent to a lab to test for the presence of certain substances that might include, are not limited to, marijuana (THC), opiates, cocaine, methamphetamines, phencyclidine (PCP), MDMA (Ecstasy) and/or any other substance defined as a “controlled substance” by either state or federal law. A Breathalyzer will be used to test for the presence of alcohol.

If a student is found to have a positive drug test, the student will undergo a drug and alcohol assessment and counseling sessions and be suspended from the team.

For the first positive result, the student is declared ineligible for a minimum of two weeks and must pass the next test before returning.
The student will be required to attend, but cannot play, all practices and games during the suspension.

If the student tests positive a second time, he or she is dismissed from the team and declared ineligible for the rest of that season and the season immediately following. For the third offense, the student athlete will not be allowed to play any and all sports for one calendar year.

Test results will have no effect on the student’s academic standing.
Marion High School Principal Alfred McFadden said implementation of this policy is an opportunity to offer support to the students who might be tempted to make wrong choices.

“If its implementation saves or deters one student, it will be worth the effort,” he said. “Putting our students in a safe learning and competitive environment continues to be our priority.”

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