'REASONABLE SUSPICION' BASIS FOR DRUG TESTS

Under the Duneland Schools' new drug policy, students will not be allowed to decline the tests and parents won't be notified until after the test results are in.

The school district was considering re-establishing a random drug testing policy, one that would test even those students who drove to school.

Instead, it opted for drug testing when school officials determine there is reasonable suspicion that a student is using drugs.

The test will reveal whether the student has taken such drugs as marijuana, heroin, cocaine, alcohol and tobacco.

The school district won't ask permission from parents to do the testing, said Jim Goetz, Chesterton High School principal.

"If we have a reasonable suspicion, we would conduct the test and then notify the parents the test was conducted," Goetz said.

It won't be in the best interests of the student to decline the test either, Goetz said.

Decline, he said, and guilt is assumed.

"If they decline, it's like implied consent when driving a car," he said.

The consequences of testing positive include suspension, probation, counseling and taking a drug education class through the school's anti-drug program.

The police are also notified if a student tests positive, Goetz said.

"By law, if we have a student that is under the influence of an illegal substance, we have to notify police," he said.

Instead of a urine test, students are administered a saliva test.  The kit is sent off to a lab and results are received within 24 hours.

Testing costs $20.

Goetz said he was unsure how much the district would eventually spend on drug testing.

"It depends on how many tests we give," he said.

"The point is to give the kids another reason to say no," Goetz said.  "Hopefully, we won't have reasonable suspicion for anybody."

A day after the School Board decided to implement the policy, Goetz hadn't heard much response from students.

"It wasn't as big a topic today as I thought it would be," he said.

"Maybe it's one of those things that the large majority of kids won't need to worry about it," Goetz said.