“We want to hold these kids to a higher standard,” said Brandon Philpot, the district’s athletic director and head coach of the Spartans football team.
Random drug testing of all students in a school district is illegal, but courts have upheld the legality of more focused programs in Ohio and around the country.
In 2002, the Supreme Court ruled students could be tested as part of qualifying for the privilege of participating in extracurricular programs.
Still the ACLU of Ohio opposes all student drug testing, claiming it violates Fourth Amendment rights to unlawful searches and could do more harm than good.
“There’s no scientific evidence this actually works,” said Gary Daniels, spokesman and lobbyist for ACLU Ohio. “A more involved kid is less likely to find themselves in trouble.”
While still rare in the Miami Valley, drug testing of some students is done at Covington Exempted Village School District, Miami Trace High School in Washington Courthouse, east of Dayton, Edgewood City Schools in Butler County and at Milford High School, north of Cincinnati.
In the Cleveland area, the suburbs of North Olmsted and Avon also drug test some students, and there are indications the practice is more common elsewhere in the state.
The Ohio High School Athletic Association’s latest survey, sent to school districts in May 2014, found 22 percent of responding school districts had “some form of student drug testing.”
Rather than cost the student their spot, the new program adopted earlier this year in Waynesville allows those who fail for the first time to continue participating, provided they enroll in a counseling program.
“It’s not about being punitive. It’s about identifying students that need help,” Superintendent Patrick Dubbs said. “We look at it more as a wellness initiative.”
One in 10 students also submit to tests for nicotine in tobacco also banned by the policy. The district also plans to test students applying for parking passes for drugs or tobacco use.
Dubbs said last year he and the board began discussing instituting the program in response to concerns about growing problems related to the heightened use of heroin and other drugs. He pointed to surveys indicating some kids start using drugs at 13 years old.
“There is a severe drug problem in the state of Ohio. I think there is an emerging one in Warren County,” said Dubbs, based on discussions with law enforcement and health officials in the community.
The ACLU’s Daniels said he typically is called on to respond on the issue when another Ohio district institutes a student drug-testing program.
“This is mostly a suburban school issue,” he added.
The programs vary in scope and process.
At Miami Trace High School, student-athletes submit to weekly drug tests.
Begun in 2008, the tests are now administered at the school to a random sample of 10 athletes a week through a contract with Fayette County Memorial Hospital.
“Over time, our testing program has evolved,” Aaron Hammond, director of athletics at the school, said via email. “We no longer conduct a mandatory pre-season test for all student athletes participating in that season.”
In Milford, students participating in sports and other extracurricular activities in grades 9 to 12 “sign a pledge and agree to random drug testing,” Robert Farrell, superintendent of the Milford Local Schools, said in an email.
Begun in 2006, the program is paid for by a Community Coalition Against Drugs and Alcohol funded by a federal grant.
Waynesville is a small village, south of Bellbrook and east of Springboro. Its school district is the smallest in Warren County.
The testing is to be paid for from the district’s general fund, although discretionary funds from area hospitals will likely be used to offset the costs. In the long run, Treasurer Ron James said the athletic department and donations would be expected to help fund the testing.
The first round of testing costs $4,400 and the district anticipates spending $12,000 to $16,000 on the program this year, James said.
Odacs, Inc., which previously tested the district’s bus drivers, is handling the testing.
“This is something we are branching out into,” Tony Goecke,Odacs vice president, said, listing New Richmond, east of Cincinnati, as a new customer.
Positive results from the on-site test are submitted for lab examination.
While rare, Goecke said Odacs has submitted results from other districts, mostly for what turned out to be prescription drug use.
“There were only a couple that were non-prescription,” he said.
Before approving the policy, the Wayne Local board held a parent meeting in March.
“We had a lot of parents with questions,” parent Lisa Hobbs said. “I thought it was received rather well.”
Hobbs said she most liked the district’s therapeutic approach.
“If a student tested positive, they were required to enroll in a counseling program. It wasn’t just you tested positive, you are out,” she said.
Earlier this month, 205 student athletes submitted urine samples for the screening.
“Everyone passed. That’s really encouraging,” said Brooke Lezotte, a senior who competes in soccer and track.
“It was actually on Picture Day,” Lezotte added. “People were really nice. No one had a problem with it.”
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