Details Emerge on Lacey School Drug Testing Plan

Details on a proposed random drug testing program at Lacey Township High School emerged Tuesday night during the final community forum on the issue.

The program, which will test for drug and alcohol usage in students selected, is expected to be introduced at next Monday's Board of Education meeting and finalized in November.

Lacey District Supervisor William Zylinski said the deterrence factor of a drug testing program could be a major factor in keeping young people from abusing drugs before they start.

"The students who I know who have left Lacey Township High School and have survived overdoses have told me that it didn't start after high school," said Zylinski. "It started in high school."

If approved, Lacey would become the 19th school district in New Jersey to institute a random drug testing program. The Mainland Regional school district in Atlantic County would likely begin its program around the same time, Zylinski said, representing a growing trend.

Lacey's proposed program would mirror other districts and conform to the relatively strict parameters set forth by the state's Supreme Court on how such programs can be administered.

Schools cannot subject all students to testing, the court ruled more than a decade ago, but can test students if they fall into at least one of three categories: participation in athletics or in a club, participation in certain activities such as prom or dances, or if they hold a parking pass. Parents could also choose to opt their children in to the program.

How The Tests Will Work

Students who participate in activities or hold a parking pass will be required to sign a form consenting to the program. An outside drug testing firm will come to the school once or twice a month to administer the tests to about 30 students who will be selected randomly by a computer program. They will be called to the nurse's office or a private bathroom where the test will be administered. The students will not be observed by another person while urinating into a collection cup.

A medical review officer – a physician – will review each of the samples collected and, if there is a positive reading, will call a student's parents after about five days, the time it takes to process the test. All positive samples will be retested to ensure accuracy.

The tests will detect the use of alcohol, amphetamines, ecstasy, cocaine, marijuana, opiates, PCP, barbiturates, benzodiazepines, methadone, propoxyphene and oxycodone.

Students who take prescribed medication that triggers a positive result may confirm their prescription to the testing company physician, and the results will not be reported to school officials.

But those students who legitimately test positive will face consequences. School officials have toughened the policy over when it was first proposed last year.

On their first positive result, students will not be able to participate in sports or activities for 10 days. They will be required to be seen by a physician (state law requires a doctor visit), have four visits with a school substance abuse counselor, then undergo four more drug and alcohol tests in the following 12 months.

A second positive result would trigger 45 days without sports or activities and eight counseling sessions, along with a mandatory substance education or rehabilitation program.

On a third offense, a student would be barred from sports and activities for a year and would be required to participate in a rehab program.

"You're never restricted from coming to school under this policy," said Zylinski. "You're always allowed to come to school, even if you test positive. This is about getting help, it's not about punishing someone academically."

School officials will not notify police in the case of a positive drug test, nor will any record of the test be included in student transcripts or shared with college admissions officers or athletic recruiters.

Mayor David Most threw his support behind the proposal, telling about 75 parents who gathered at the forum Tuesday night that the township must confront a growing drug problem.

"It's a community problem," said Most. "Almost every time they arrest someone for breaking and entering, it turns out to be a drug addict."

Most said Lacey has seen 28 overdoses and six deaths so far in 2013. Of those 28 overdoses, more than half – 15 in all – occurred in victims ages 15 to 28.

"You can see that it affects our youth," said Most.

The program will be useful because it goes beyond the minimum requirement under state law that students who appear to be under the influence in school get tested and receive counseling.

"This is about students who need help, but we don't know who they are," said Zylinski.