Johnny_Blaze_47
08-05-2006, 08:47 AM
SAISD providing voluntary drug testing
Web Posted: 08/04/2006 10:47 PM CDT
Michelle M. Martinez
Express-News Staff Writer
Judy Jackson and her husband were worried about their adolescent daughter.
She was moodier, less active, and they feared these were signs she might be using drugs. Just as they were considering asking her to take a drug test, a solution materialized: The San Antonio Independent School District's voluntary Student Drug Testing Program, the only such program among Bexar County school districts.
"Her mood swings were really kind of scaring us," Jackson said this week. "So it was kind of like a godsend of sorts."
The district launched the free program in January for students in the sixth through ninth grades. Unlike area school districts with similar programs, including Fredericksburg in Gillespie County, New Braunfels in Comal County and San Marcos in Hays County, SAISD's drug test results aren't used to determine eligibility for extracurricular activities or other school privileges.
"There is absolutely nothing punitive attached," said Sylvia Rendon, the district's director of Guidance and Counseling. "Our plan is basically to provide a tool kit for parents."
The program, Rendon said, also gives students a reason to say no to peers who pressure them to do drugs.
Last year, 351 students were tested under the federally funded program, district spokeswoman Carmen Vázquez-González said. Nine were positive.
School officials are hoping more students will enroll in the program this school year, which begins Aug. 14.
If Jackson's experience is any indication, the task won't be easy. Jackson had to persuade her daughter to sign up for the program. Both parent and child must agree to random testing.
"I just told her that it would make me feel better, and that there was nothing to be afraid of," Jackson said. "I did kind of tell her that if you don't do it, it will kind of make me feel like you're doing drugs."
The program may have provided Jackson with peace of mind — her daughter's test was negative — but it didn't go over well with her daughter, who will enter seventh grade this month.
"To be honest, I really don't like peeing in a cup," said the teen, whose name is not being published to protect her privacy.
Here's how it works: Parents and students interested in the program can visit the school counselor for information. Once signed up, students become part of a pool and can be pulled out of class randomly to provide a specimen for testing.
Pinnacle Medical Management Corp., based in Houston, handles the testing. Parents are notified of the results. If the test is positive, they are given information about drug abuse programs for their children.
The U.S. Department of Education awarded the district a $364,473 three-year grant last year to start the program. In the grant application, officials pointed to drug-related incidents at their schools and a 2004 self-reported student drug survey. The district reported 458 drug-related incidents among middle and high school students during the 2004-05 school year. Of those, 337 incidents were at high schools.
Some school districts in the Bexar County area have mandatory drug testing programs for students who participate in extracurricular activities.
New Braunfels began its program last year; San Marcos and Fredericksburg in 2004.
Such mandatory programs have been criticized by the American Civil Liberties Union for infringing upon students' right to privacy, but school officials say they are within the law because of a 2002 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that upheld testing students who are in extracurricular activities.
In Fredericksburg, students can be suspended from competitive activities for 45 days after their first positive drug test. After the third, they are banned from competitive activities for their high school career, Superintendent Marc Williamson said.
"Initially, I was not really an advocate for it," Williamson said. "But I have really come full circle on that. (The students) visit with me, and they have really indicated to me that for the rank and file of students it has really proved to be a deterrent in some social situations."
http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/metro/stories/MYSA080506.01B.SAISD_drug_testing.1dc2dd0.html
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I think this is fairly interesting. I like that apparently, some students are taking the initiative to use it as a way to keep them from starting drug use and the fact that SAISD isn't paying for it.
Web Posted: 08/04/2006 10:47 PM CDT
Michelle M. Martinez
Express-News Staff Writer
Judy Jackson and her husband were worried about their adolescent daughter.
She was moodier, less active, and they feared these were signs she might be using drugs. Just as they were considering asking her to take a drug test, a solution materialized: The San Antonio Independent School District's voluntary Student Drug Testing Program, the only such program among Bexar County school districts.
"Her mood swings were really kind of scaring us," Jackson said this week. "So it was kind of like a godsend of sorts."
The district launched the free program in January for students in the sixth through ninth grades. Unlike area school districts with similar programs, including Fredericksburg in Gillespie County, New Braunfels in Comal County and San Marcos in Hays County, SAISD's drug test results aren't used to determine eligibility for extracurricular activities or other school privileges.
"There is absolutely nothing punitive attached," said Sylvia Rendon, the district's director of Guidance and Counseling. "Our plan is basically to provide a tool kit for parents."
The program, Rendon said, also gives students a reason to say no to peers who pressure them to do drugs.
Last year, 351 students were tested under the federally funded program, district spokeswoman Carmen Vázquez-González said. Nine were positive.
School officials are hoping more students will enroll in the program this school year, which begins Aug. 14.
If Jackson's experience is any indication, the task won't be easy. Jackson had to persuade her daughter to sign up for the program. Both parent and child must agree to random testing.
"I just told her that it would make me feel better, and that there was nothing to be afraid of," Jackson said. "I did kind of tell her that if you don't do it, it will kind of make me feel like you're doing drugs."
The program may have provided Jackson with peace of mind — her daughter's test was negative — but it didn't go over well with her daughter, who will enter seventh grade this month.
"To be honest, I really don't like peeing in a cup," said the teen, whose name is not being published to protect her privacy.
Here's how it works: Parents and students interested in the program can visit the school counselor for information. Once signed up, students become part of a pool and can be pulled out of class randomly to provide a specimen for testing.
Pinnacle Medical Management Corp., based in Houston, handles the testing. Parents are notified of the results. If the test is positive, they are given information about drug abuse programs for their children.
The U.S. Department of Education awarded the district a $364,473 three-year grant last year to start the program. In the grant application, officials pointed to drug-related incidents at their schools and a 2004 self-reported student drug survey. The district reported 458 drug-related incidents among middle and high school students during the 2004-05 school year. Of those, 337 incidents were at high schools.
Some school districts in the Bexar County area have mandatory drug testing programs for students who participate in extracurricular activities.
New Braunfels began its program last year; San Marcos and Fredericksburg in 2004.
Such mandatory programs have been criticized by the American Civil Liberties Union for infringing upon students' right to privacy, but school officials say they are within the law because of a 2002 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that upheld testing students who are in extracurricular activities.
In Fredericksburg, students can be suspended from competitive activities for 45 days after their first positive drug test. After the third, they are banned from competitive activities for their high school career, Superintendent Marc Williamson said.
"Initially, I was not really an advocate for it," Williamson said. "But I have really come full circle on that. (The students) visit with me, and they have really indicated to me that for the rank and file of students it has really proved to be a deterrent in some social situations."
http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/metro/stories/MYSA080506.01B.SAISD_drug_testing.1dc2dd0.html
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I think this is fairly interesting. I like that apparently, some students are taking the initiative to use it as a way to keep them from starting drug use and the fact that SAISD isn't paying for it.