Random drug tests to be used in FRHSD

Students throughout the Freehold Regional High School District who have certain privileges at their school will have to think twice before experimenting with drugs or alcohol, because the beginning of the 2010-11 school year will bring about the start of random drug testing.

The FRHSD Board of Education held a public hearing and unanimously voted to adopt the new drug testing policy during its Oct. 19 meeting held at Freehold Township High School.

According to the drug testing policy, students who have privileges — defined as participation in sports and extracurricular activities, and those students who have a parking permit at their school — will be part of a testing pool and may be selected for random drug tests throughout the school year.

The parent of a child who does not have privileges at school will be given the opportunity to have his child placed in the testing pool and subjected to random drug tests.

Officials said the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled it is illegal to test all students in a school and that drug testing can only be done on students who have privileges.

It was estimated that between 75 and 80 percent of the district's 11,700 students have privileges (a pool of about 9,300 students).

District administrators have previously stated that an increase in drug use among FRHSD students over the years has led to the need for drug testing. They said the initiative is aimed at deterring students from using drugs, rather than punishing them for the behavior.

Students and their parents will have to sign a consent form agreeing to the random drug testing in order for the student to gain his or her particular privilege.

A database of eligible students will be created, and a contracted outside agency will email a list of randomly selected students to the school nurse one day prior to the testing. A handout on the drug testing policy states that every attempt will be made to notify the parent that random drug testing of his child will take place on a specific day.

If a student's test indicates drug use, the student will be removed from his privilege for 30 days. The student will have to take another test and produce a negative result in order to be permitted to regain the privilege.

If the second test comes back positive, the student's parents will be notified and the student will be referred to the student assistance counselor for counseling.

School board President Ronald Lawson of Howell said the cost of the drug testing program, estimated at $22,000, will be provided in the 2010-11 budget.

The board's vice president, Christopher Placitella, asked if the 10 percent of the students to be randomly tested from the eligible pool of students was a set number.

Assistant Superintendent Patricia Emmerman said the number of students being tested could be changed after the first year. By way of example, she said that if a large number of positive test results occur in the first year of testing, administrators might want to consider increasing the number of students tested.

When the matter was opened up for public discussion, Marlboro resident Ira Levin said he was all for the drug testing, but had a few questions about the program's suggested effectiveness.

Levin asked whether the right group of students would be targeted with the random testing, since to his understanding the students who are most likely to experiment with drugs were less likely to be involved in school activities.

Emmerman said it is a common misconception that students who do not participate in school activities are the group using drugs. She said drug use can be seen across the board, from the most involved student to the least involved student. It was also noted that the parking permit privilege also brings additional students into the random drug testing pool.

She said the FRHSD has a policy in place that requires testing if a student is suspected of being under the influence, regardless of whether that student has a school privilege.

Marlboro resident Joshua Pollak asked about the possibility of instituting a random drug testing policy for the FRHSD's teachers, administrators, Board of Education members and staff of the district as well as the students.

"What can we do to put this policy in effect for the people who are actually teaching our children, the people who are overseeing our children and the people who are supposed to be protecting our children?" Pollak asked.

Lawson and Placitella said they would submit to drug testing as individuals, but could not speak on behalf of the entire board.

FRHSD Superintendent of Schools James Wasser said that in regard to staff testing, he would voluntarily submit to a drug test, but he said in order to move forward with a drug testing program for staff members, there must be an evident need. Wasser said that in the 24 years he has worked in the district, he has not seen evidence that would suggest a need for random drug testing among the employees.

"I don't believe there is a problem; if there was [a problem], I might have a different position," Wasser said on the matter of drug testing for teachers.