Robert Frick wasn't in favor of mandatory student drug-testing programs.
The superintendent of Lampeter-Strasburg School District said he saw what other districts were doing and thought, "Testing the kids ... involved in extracurriculars didn't make sense. They're usually too busy to be involved with drugs and alcohol."
But a task force convened by the district and composed of parents, board members, educators and administrators changed his mind.
The task force met with officials from other county districts that had implemented programs. It talked with the county's Drug Task Force. And it reviewed L-S discipline records.
"We have a board of review for when a kid who violates a policy comes up for suspension," Frick said. "We realized that most of our offenses that resulted in suspension were drug-related. Most were for possession; some were for attempts to distribute."
Ultimately, Frick said, the numbers didn't support his theory that students involved in extracurricular activities were less likely to be involved with drugs. "The idea that the non-involved kid is most likely involved with drugs just didn't pan out in our discipline records," he said.
Last September, L-S became the sixth district in the county to adopt a drug-testing program. The others are Columbia, Conestoga Valley, Hempfield, Penn Manor and Solanco.
Manheim Township is holding public meetings to decide whether to implement a policy there.
Four districts share similar programs. Any student who is involved in an extracurricular activity or who drives to school must submit to random drug testing. If the student and his or her parents do not sign a permission slip, the student may not participate in the activity or drive to school. Parents may sign a form opting to put their child in the drug testing pool even if the student doesn't participate in extracurricular programs or drive to school.
The testing program at Conestoga Valley is voluntary: Students or parents must opt in. At CV, 768 students, or about 38 percent of the secondary population, signed up. "We were pretty thrilled with those numbers," said the superintendent, Gerald Huesken. "If people don't like it, certainly they don't have to participate."
Columbia Borough School District has adopted a program but has not implemented it.
Columbia superintendent Barry Clippinger said the district is working with Lancaster General Health to finalize details, adding that testing "will be starting very soon." Columbia will test students involved in "competitive" extracurricular activities, which include sports, band and "even the quiz bowl," Clippinger said.
School officials in drug-testing districts say their programs not only deter drug use, they give students an excuse to resist peer pressure.
"From a preventive standpoint, testing serves as a deterrent to some students," said Brenda Becker, Hempfield superintendent. "But it also gives them an out, an excuse they can use with their friends. This way, [the administration] can be the bad guys and, frankly, we're glad to be the bad guys."
Frick agreed, "The key thing we're hoping is that it does give kids a reason not to give in to peer pressure."
Darrin Donmoyer is the Student Assistance Program team leader at Penn Manor and also serves on the state SAP board. He said, "It's not about catching kids using drugs. That's not why the program is in place. … This program can help them make better decisions."
Solanco School District adopted its testing policy after a student died from a heroin overdose in 1999. The Solanco policy began as voluntary, but became mandatory in 2006 after the school received federal grant money to finance the program.
"There's not a public or private school that doesn't have drugs available to students," Solanco superintendent Martin J. Hudacs said. "Schools can't put their heads in the sand and pretend that isn't the case."
Students certainly know it.
"Anything you want is there," said a 2009 graduate who requested anonymity. "You know who is selling what and how to get in touch with them."
A parent in the Penn Manor district whose son has battled an addiction to drugs and alcohol for at least four years said he is surprised by how quickly students can access a variety of drugs, from Vicodin to marijuana and cocaine.
"You can text somebody and in 15 minutes have any drug you want in your hands," said the parent, who also requested anonymity. "It's as easy as that."
The parent said he supports drug testing in schools, but doesn't think it's very effective.
"It might scare a few people," he said, especially occasional users. "True hard-core users are going to use regardless and look for every way around getting caught."
His son, who is currently receiving education and treatment at an out-of-state facility, was never tested at school but passed an employment-related drug test by taking a masking product.
"Somebody who's really a problem person knows how to do what they need to do to pass the drug screen," the parent said.
"Is some deterrent better than no deterrent? I think that's what it boils down to."
Hudacs said of the six students who have tested positive in Solanco in the past three years, "That's six kids that wouldn't have been caught otherwise. … Another two to three years, and the parents would have lost all control.
"This isn't meant to be a 'gotcha.' It's meant to be a support. It's meant to help kids. It's meant to work with a problem that is right here in front of us. Drugs are available. Kids are using drugs. That is the case."
Students are also drinking, but alcohol is nearly impossible to detect because it disappears from the system in 12 to 24 hours.
When it comes to alcohol use on weekends, Donmoyer said, "We just can't detect it."
Districts have different procedures to deal with kids who show up on campus under the influence or in possession of drugs or alcohol. Across the board, those infractions result in immediate disciplinary action.
As Frick noted, "If a kid comes to school under the influence, or in possession, we have zero tolerance for that."
He and other school officials said that when they hear rumors of a planned weekend party, they will alert local law enforcement.
But, Frick said, "Schools alone do not have a drug-and-alcohol problem. Society has a drug-and-alcohol problem."
School officials said one side benefit of testing programs is that districts also expand their curricular approach to provide more extensive drug-and-alcohol awareness education.
Frick said that during the task force's research, "Our kids told us that after ninth grade they weren't getting much (awareness education.) Now, drug- and-alcohol awareness is implemented in our health classes through 12th grade."
The other local districts that test said that they, too, had revamped health curricula to expand education and awareness.
Becker, who earned a chemical dependency counseling certificate from Penn State University, said she understands all sides of the issues related to student testing, but favors the program because of her counseling experience.
"I have spent a good deal of my career working with kids who are at risk," she said. "Kids are experimenting more often than we are willing to admit. Drugs are much more accessible to them, and we are not with them when they are at a party or in the car. But the stakes are so high."
She said she empathizes with students who do not like testing programs. "I don't think it's the kind of thing that kids enjoy doing," she said. "I'm in my third year here, and I have not had one child or one parent contact me about the program.
"They are young adults, and they want to be treated more on the adult side than on the young side. I'm a big fan of not punishing the masses for what a few may do, and I'm sure that, particularly for kids who are responsible, they are wondering, 'Why are you putting me through this?'!\p"
Yet, she believes it's necessary.
"I've learned that drug-and-alcohol abuse doesn't target any one group, socially, economically, culturally; it slices and dices through all kids," she said. "But when it comes to this, the stakes are so high. I've been to way too many funerals for kids over the years."