LAKE STEVENS – Student athletes at Lake Stevens High School next fall could face random drug tests if they want to be on team rosters.
The Lake Stevens School Board plans to direct the superintendent at its May 24 meeting to start random drug and alcohol tests at the 2,100-student high school.
Details have not been worked out, but the urinalysis tests would be given to student athletes and possibly to students in other extracurricular activities.
The school has about two dozen clubs catering to a variety of interests, including Japanese animation enthusiasts and marching band musicians. One club, the Natural Highs Network, emphasizes being alcohol- and drug-free.
School leaders have been looking at ways to improve drug and alcohol prevention efforts since last year, concerned by discipline reports and student surveys.
“We’ve decided ultimately this is the way to go,” school board president Janice Thompson said.
The random tests will act as a deterrent, she said. “It gives kids a reason to say ‘no.’ “
Drug use among young athletes has made headlines recently after the arrest of a wrestling referee from Lake Stevens who is now charged with trading alcohol and cocaine for sex.
Much earlier, board members were hosting community meetings on drug use-prevention ideas. One result last fall was requiring drug tests for students entering Prove High School, an alternative program.
Weston High School, an alternative program in Arlington, also requires drug tests for students as a condition of enrollment.
The policies are aimed at getting students into treatment rather than facing discipline.
Blanket drug testing of students is illegal. But the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that the Constitution doesn’t prohibit public schools from requiring students to take drug tests as a condition of participating in sports or other optional programs.
At the same time, the American Civil Liberties Union has argued that Washington state’s constitution is more strict.
“Drug testing of students without suspicion that an individual has done anything wrong intrudes on a student’s privacy and violates the state constitution,” said Doug Honig, a spokesman for the ACLU’s Seattle office.
Two lawsuits on drug testingare pending in Superior Courts elsewhere in the state.
“We would urge the school district not to implement the policy until there’s a court ruling,” Honig said.
Honig also pointed to a 2003 University of Michigan study that found no difference in the rates of drug use in schools that have drug testing and those that don’t.
Marysville School Board members also have raised the idea of giving drug tests to student athletes. No formal discussion has taken place.
Granite Falls School District used drug tests for athletes and cheerleaders during the 1997-98 school year before abandoning the practice because of legal advice and the threat of a lawsuit.
Of the 91 test results at Granite Falls High School that year, 88 were negative and three turned up positive.
In Lake Stevens, school board members won’t need to vote to start the testing program. Instead, it would become a piece of the district’s overall prevention program, district spokeswoman Arlene Hulten said.
Other prevention efforts this year have included:
* Enforcement of existing policies and athletic codes.
* A student assistance program.
* Random checking for drugs on campus using police dogs.
* An anonymous tip line and referral system.
The district is letting families know of the meeting early on to encourage feedback, Hulten said.
“It’s sending a real clear message that we’re doing everything we can to support an alcohol- and drug-free student body,” she said.
Reporter Melissa Slager: 425-339-3465 or mslager@ heraldnet.com.
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