A committee has been studying expanding it to middle school athletes but is also now considering requiring it of students participating in band, chorus, and clubs as well as those applying for driving permits.
School officials emphasize that before any changes are made, a series of public hearings will be held.
"Since we've had the program for three years (we thought) it would be a good time to just kind of review where we've been and where we're going and see if there's anything we may want to do to change the program to make it stronger to make it stronger," school system spokesman Gordon Higgins said in August when plans for the committee were announced.
Hall County initiated testing in the fall of 2004. Higgins said earlier this year eight athletes tested positive that first year. In March, Hall conducted its ninth round of tests, and all came back negative, according to Higgins.
Other systems in northeast Georgia that conduct random drug testing are Lumpkin, Rabun and White. The tests cost around $25 per student and screen for drugs such as marijuana, cocaine, amphetamines, opiates and PCP.
To date, Higgins said Tuesday, the committee, comprised of two Board members, representatives from middle and high schools (including principals, athletic directors, coaches, and parents), and central office personnel, has conducted two meetings. He said after the first meeting, the committee wanted to hear back from the schools regarding their staff's perceptions of expanding the program, including degree of support and issues related to implementation.
"At the second meeting, designated committee members gave reports on the various view points presented at the schools. The vast majority of staff members at all schools supported the possible expansion of the program to these other areas previously mentioned, including middle schools."
The committee will continue to evaluate the current program in terms of the potential it presents for expansion to other areas, Higgins added.
Under the current drug screening program, any student-athlete who participates in a sport requiring a physical must submit to random drug testing. The tests, conducted and evaluated by the Northeast Georgia Health System Toxicology Department, are done at each school at various times during the school year under the supervision of the school's administration. The screen samples are taken by health system technicians back to their lab for evaluation.
School administration is informed within 48 hours of the results. In the case of a reported positive, a medical review officer calls the parent(s) of the student-athlete to inform them and to conduct an interview, answering any questions regarding the procedures followed to obtain the reported results. What follows is a meeting with the parents, their child, and the school administration to outline the provisions that must be met for the student-athlete to have an opportunity to continue participation. The most important piece at this juncture is intervention, which calls the parents to attend the system's SUPER ONE program with their child.
To review the current procedures in place to randomly drug test high school athletes, follow the link below and open the file listed as "Athletics Drug Testing Program."
For additional information on the high school perspective of the possible expansion of the program, contact Principal Gary Brown ([email protected]) at 770-983-7331; for middle school, Principal Brad Brown ([email protected]) at 770-983-9749.
http://accesswdun.com/article/2007/9/85766