Speakers tout drug testing in schools

By Steve Zalusky Daily Herald Staff Writer

The goal, state Rep. Timothy Schmitz said, is not to punish.

"To punish is easy. We have prisons," Schmitz said. "Our end game plan is to help our children."

If that means mandatory drug testing, "Let's do it," said Schmitz, who represents the 49th District and lives in Batavia. He was one of the speakers at Tuesday's student drug testing summit, sponsored by the federal Office of National Drug Control Policy and held at the Radisson in Schaumburg.

Schmitz said he would be willing to co-sponsor legislation to codify the federal standards for drug testing. President Bush has offered to provide $20 million in funding for schools that want to apply drug testing.

Drug testing is a thorny issue for parents and educators, raising questions of privacy.

But several speakers and educators attending the conference said the real issue is the choice between life and death.

Just ask one of the speakers, Rolling Meadows resident Kate Patton, whose daughter Kelley died of an overdose of the club drug Ecstasy.

"I would have welcomed student drug testing if it would have been available when Kelley was in high school. If she would have been tested for drugs and found positive, I would have been alerted to her drug use," said Patton, the driving force behind Kelley's Law, which toughened penalties for selling club drugs.

Among the speakers at the conference was Paul D. Connick Jr., district attorney in Jefferson Parish, La., who talked about the parish's pilot drug testing program in the public schools.

This year, the program will require mandatory drug testing using hair of all high school students engaged in athletics and extracurricular activities.

Those testing positive are immediately suspended from activities, and a school drug adviser meets with the student and parents or guardians. A professional assessment and a treatment program then follow. Students who fail to comply are referred to juvenile court.

After the first year, 96 percent of the faculty and students interviewed indicated the program was beneficial, he said.

Not that there weren't obstacles. Connick noted that in the first year, 124 of the 1,459 student athletes tested showed up without hair.

"They shaved their bodies," he said. "The sad part about that was, some of them were advised by coaches or assistant coaches."

Connick said the problem was addressed with random urine testing, and the following year, a "no hair, no play" policy was put in place.

The conference elicited a variety of reactions.

"I think it's an idea that is worth discussing in our community," said Joanne Medak, student assistance program coordinator with Glenbrook South High School.

Kevin Skinkis, recently hired as a director of support services at Mundelein High School, said mandatory testing could prevent students from using drugs.

"You're obviously going to get some resistance from some parents and definitely the students," he said. "(But) this is something to keep kids safe. This is not something to put kids down or get kids in trouble."

Anne Buck, representing Round Lake School District 116, said: "Probably the most important thing I've walked away with so far is we need to establish a need for the drug testing. It's all well and good to say, 'Yes we have to test kids for drugs.' Is there really a need?"

Charles McCormick, superintendent of Kaneland School District 302, said he opposes mandatory testing.

"When I look at 80 percent of the districts in Illinois being in a deficit funding situation, cutting staff and closing buildings, I find it difficult for this to be a priority.

"I also do not think that it addresses the primary public-health needs of adolescents. I see more problems related to alcohol use. I see more problems related to obesity."

McCormick said money should be spent instead on after-school activities that will divert students from drug use.

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