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Plans for random drug testing of Sylvania students create online debate

THE BLADE

Plans for random drug testing of Sylvania students create online debate

A newly adopted random drug-testing policy to begin next year at Sylvania Schools is the subject of intense debate among parents on social media.

The policy, approved April 15 in a unanimous vote by the board of education, requires all students in grades nine through 12 who participate in athletics, extracurricular and co-curricular activities, and clubs, or who drive to school or attend school dances to submit to random drug testing. Parents can also volunteer their children for the testing pool.

“We just think it’s a really good decision for the safety of our kids,” Superintendent Adam Fineske said Thursday.

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The vast majority of public commentary has been on the “Sylvania Parents/Taxpayers” Facebook group page after high school principals included notice of the new policy in their monthly newsletters, the superintendent said. Some are calling the measure a drastic overreach and an invasion of student privacy, while others say they fully support drug testing for all students.

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The policy, to take effect in the 2019-20 school year, does not provide any alternatives or opt-out provisions. Parents and guardians either sign the consent form or their students cannot participate in the covered activities.

“It’s important for our youth and for our students who are in the spotlight representing our district to be our best kids and to know we have high expectations for them,” Mr. Fineske said.

He added that no one attended school board meetings to comment on the policy when it was under review, and as of Thursday morning, school officials had received virtually no direct communication from parents beyond a few calls with general questions.

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Jim Nusbaum, board president, said the district does not have a problem with substance abuse and the policy is designed as a preventative measure.

“I think it’s a responsible step in the right direction to assist with the prevention of substance abuse,” he said. “We’re not inventing the wheel here. A lot of schools are doing this already.”

Mr. Fineske said the policy is modeled after those at other area schools.

He said Sylvania and Bowling Green schools are the only districts in the Northern Lakes League of the Ohio High School Athletic Association that did not have a random drug-testing policy in place. The league also includes Anthony Wayne, Maumee, Napoleon, Perrysburg, and Springfield schools.

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Both Mr. Fineske and Mr. Nusbaum said the policy gives students a reason to refuse to partake if offered drugs or alcohol.

“I think this type of policy helps our students, who in today’s educational world, are facing peer pressure like never before,” Mr. Fineske said. “It provides them an out to say, ‘I can’t,’ at a party or after-school thing.”

The superintendents at Maumee and Perrsyburg schools, which have had similar policies in place since 2017 and 2010, respectively, said the same.

“All students are under immense pressure, and any time we can provide them with a tool to make a healthy choice, I think we have an obligation to provide that,” Todd Cramer, Maumee City Schools superintendent, said.

Tom Hossler, superintendent of Perrysburg Schools, said there was plenty of discussion both for and against the policy back in 2010, but concerns subsided by 2011 and students still signed up for activities.

"It's been a positive here. This is something that is not uncommon," he said.

Commenters to posts on Facebook had a variety of views, some which echoed school officials.

“I'm typically against things like this, but honestly, with how accessible hard drugs are now, I feel like it gives kids another good reason not to do it,” Lisa Tremblay commented. “I'm all for this within reason. ... The reality is, most kids will experiment at one point, and I'm hoping it is used as a way to open up communication between parents, kids, and the consequence of school (and eventually work) life.”

The Sylvania policy will cover the majority of its high school students. It excludes students who go to class but do not participate in extra activities, drive to school, or attend school functions.

Mr. Nusbaum said the district has no legal ability to include those students in the random testing pool unless their parents or guardians specifically volunteer them.

“We don’t have the legal right to test those students because they have a right to attend school,” he said. “But these other activities are privileges, and their exercising of those privileges is conditioned on drug testing.”

The testing, to be done through a contract with Great Lakes Biomedical, will be funded by drug- and violence-prevention grants, Mr. Fineske said.

Students will be notified of their selection and directed to report to a designated, secured area. They will provide a urine sample while a laboratory technician will “stand outside the stall and listen for normal sounds of urination,” according to the policy.

The first positive test will result in a student’s suspension from school activities for a calendar year.

If that student completes a professional assessment and receives assistance, he or she will be suspended from only 20 percent of each activity the student participates in. Five follow-up school tests at the parents’ or guardians’ expense must also be negative.

The second positive results in full suspension from activities for a year and mandatory assessment by a certified chemical dependency counselor. Parents must provide proof a student adheres to the counselor’s recommendations, and also must pay for five follow-up school screenings.

A third violation results in a permanent ban from school activities for the remainder of the student’s high-school career.

Some of those commenting, including Sylvania City Councilman Doug Haynam, said the policy is invasive and punishes students who have done nothing wrong by pulling them away from valuable instructional time.

“The first thing this policy does is remove these kids from the education we’re supposed to be giving them. They get yanked out of class to go take this test,” he told The Blade. “This is an effort by this district to substitute testing for a valid and effective educational plan.”

He noted schools already have the ability to test students if there is a reasonable suspicion of substance use. He said the new policy tells students “that we don’t trust you. We don’t respect you.”

If parents are uncomfortable with the policy and do not consent to random drug testing, children are essentially punished without cause by being automatically excluded from school activities that “enhance the academic experience,” Mr. Haynam said.

“My objections to this policy would go away if parents had the ability to opt out,” he said. “As it is now, the opt-out comes with extreme penalties.”

The American Civil Liberties Union opposes student drug testing.

Ben Guess, executive director of the ACLU of Ohio, said involvement in school activities is “the surefire way to keep kids out of trouble,” and removing them from those activities is a “perfect recipe” to create opportunities for additional substance use.

“Schools should be attempting to get young people involved in more activities, not providing reasons for disenfranchising involvement,” he said. “It’s deeply problematic.”

While the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled drug testing for athletes is permissible, Mr. Guess said random drug testing without reasonable suspicion of drug or alcohol use is unconstitutional in that it “presumes all students are guilty until they prove themselves innocent.”

Blade staff writers Sarah Elms and Jay Skebba contributed to this report.

First Published April 25, 2019, 5:01 p.m.

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