Mid-Pacific
OKs drug tests

The voluntary program will
begin in the fall and is meant
to foster student-parent talks

Despite opposition from some parents, Mid-Pacific Institute will become the first school in the state to begin testing students for drug use in a voluntary, confidential program starting this fall.

"The program is designed to gently force a discussion between parents and students," said Joe Rice, president of the private school in Manoa, adding that parents, not the school, will be informed of the results of the urine tests. "It will give students one more tool to fight peer pressure."

Key points in student drug testing Highlights of the voluntary drug-testing program set to begin at Mid-Pacific Institute this fall: » All middle and high school students are eligible. » Students will be tested only if both they and their parents agree. » Participating students will be selected randomly to give urine samples. » Testing will be done on campus by drug-testing laboratory personnel. » The drug-testing company will notify parents, not the school, of the results. » There will be no sanctions at school for a failed drug test. » The school will cover the cost, approximately $25 per test. » Mid-Pacific Institute: www.midpac.edu » Examples of scientifically proven prevention programs are listed at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Service's Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's Web site at modelprograms.samhsa.gov.

Mid-Pacific had considered testing students starting in January but held off when some parents objected, saying the program would not deter drug use and would invade students' privacy and foster mistrust. They asked the school to adopt drug prevention programs that have been subjected to scientific scrutiny and proven to work.

"We are extremely disappointed," Lerisa Heroldt, who has two teenagers at Mid-Pacific, said yesterday after hearing the school was going ahead with the program.

"We provided them with examples of scientifically proven programs that deter substance abuse, but it appears that they are not being considered," she said. "We think this snake-oil approach is misguided and will be detrimental."

Roughly 1,170 students in grades six through 12 would be eligible for testing. The administration mailed letters announcing the program to families on Wednesday and posted information on the school's Web site, saying it would begin in the 2005-2006 school year.

Both parents and students must consent before the random testing would take place. Urine samples will be collected from students on campus by an independent laboratory, which would send the results directly to the parents. Any consequences would be up to the families involved, not school officials. The school will pay the cost of the urine tests, roughly $25 each.

The president of Mid-Pacific's Parent Teacher Organization, Noren Kawakami, said his family has not decided whether his 14-year-old son will participate.

"I personally think it's a good program," he said. "I can't really say how effective it will be. It seems to be promising. I'll need to get my son's input and see how he feels about it. That will determine if I actually sign up or not. It needs to be a family decision."

City Prosecutor Peter Carlisle, whose son attends Mid-Pacific, was delighted that the school decided to proceed. At a meeting last fall on campus, he urged other parents to support the effort, which is modeled on a 3-year-old program at San Clemente High School in California.

"In my opinion it will enhance the safety of the institution and give students at Mid-Pac ammunition to confront peer pressure where drug use is concerned," he said yesterday. "I think the school should be applauded for being visionary and cutting-edge in terms of combating drug abuse at an early stage.

"I believe that this will encourage parents to get their children to participate, and those few who decide not to, that's their decision," he said.

At San Clemente about half of the students submit to drug testing, with about 6 percent testing positive, according to Vice Principal Jon Hamro, who visited Mid-Pacific in September. He said no data was available, either from student surveys or disciplinary records, to show whether drug use on the campus had changed since the program began, but he said it helped foster discussion on an important issue.

Gerald Brouwers, a clinical psychologist with a daughter at Mid-Pacific, had joined other parents in urging the school to adopt substance abuse prevention programs that are scientifically proven.

"It will be a false sense of security because they're not testing for the things that kids are actually using, like alcohol," Brouwers said yesterday. "Parents are better served by directly communicating with their kids rather than through a drug-testing company."