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Gathering Places

PETER CARLISLE

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Stop drugs in their
tracks -- test isle students

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The time for drug testing in schools is now. Unless you are living with your head in the sand, you must know that drugs are one of Hawaii's most serious problems -- and particularly with the prevalence of "ice" (crystal methamphetamine), the problem has been getting progressively worse.

The first line of defense to drug abuse is the functional family. Sadly, there are scores of dysfunctional families in Hawaii, families with drug-abusing, physically abusive, uninvolved and inadequate parents. The children in such families are at great risk of self-destructive behaviors. They also are sources of negative peer pressure for other children. To put it bluntly, bad kids put good kids at risk -- and don't let any Pollyanna tell you there are no bad kids.

The second line of defense to drug abuse is the schoolhouse. After perhaps their homes, this is the place where children spend most of their time. It is here where they associate and interact with their peers, mentors and teachers. It is also a place where they can learn about or become involved in the self-destructive behaviors of substance abuse.

The last and most drastic line of defense is intervention by law enforcement and the criminal justice system, with forced treatment and/or incapacitation through incarceration.

So, an ideal place to start fighting the problem of substance abuse by children is the schoolhouse. It is a place where children from dysfunctional families are removed from that environment, and it is a place where they can learn from functional adults whose mission is to train, teach and mentor.

Several years ago Harry Connick, the Orleans Parish District Attorney in Louisiana, put together a coalition to begin the New Orleans Public High School Drug Testing and Assistance program. The idea behind the pilot program was that by deterring young adults from beginning or continuing drug use and by identifying those involved in drug use, they could be steered into drug education, counseling and treatment.

The program was intended to:

>> establish a drug-free and safe learning environment for all students;

>> identify high school students involved in substance abuse;

>> provide professional assessment of those students who are drug users;

>> provide professional assistance through treatment;

>>reduce or eliminate peer pressure to use drugs;

>> improve overall academic performance by reducing the detention, suspension and expulsion rates; and

>> deter high school students from future involvement in the criminal justice system.

The program promised to provide:

>> program-funded drug testing using hair analysis;

>> manpower assistance to implement the program; and

>> free drug-abuse assessments and services for those students who test positive.

The program was not implemented as a tool for the expulsion of or the detection and criminal prosecution of student drug users.

>> A student would never be suspended or expelled from school based on a positive drug test result.

>> School personnel would not initiate criminal charges or other legal action based on a positive test result.

>> School personnel were required to ensure that testing results were never part of a student's academic record.

>> Confidentiality was to be fully maintained.

A number of private schools implemented mandatory drug testing with positive results:

>> The principal of Pope John II High School stresses, "We are not here to catch and condemn, but instead to educate and liberate our teenagers in order to live clean healthy lives."

>> The president of De La Salle High School reports that they tested more than 2,000 heads of hair. Fewer than 2 percent of the students tested positive the first time; 98 percent of those did not test positive again. Detentions for fighting have been reduced 85 percent and those for disruptive behavior decreased 65 percent."

>> The Mount Carmel Academy principal stresses the program's deterrent effect. Students can resist peer pressure by saying, "I can't use drugs because my school has mandatory random drug testing."

Also in 2,000, the principal and parents of Frederick A. Douglass Senior High School, an Orleans Parish public school, won approval from the Orleans Parish School Board to begin a voluntary drug testing program. Other Orleans Parish public school principals expressed interest in establishing similar programs. In July 2001, the Orleans Parish School Board approved drug testing at a second public school, George Washington Carver Senior High School. The anticipated cost of the program at two high schools with a total enrollment of 2,000 students was estimated at approximately $261,226 per year. Sources of potential funding included private foundations, local businesses and grants. In private schools, costs for the program could be incorporated into school tuition costs.

Is the program constitutional? Yes. The United States Supreme Court has held that suspicionless drug testing is constitutional if there is a "compelling state interest." The court found that a government, under a public school system, has the responsibility to act as guardian and tutor of children entrusted to its care. The court held that deterring drug abuse by school children is a "compelling state interest." I can't think of a greater community responsibility than to create a safe educational environment.

Hawaii has a drug problem. It is in our schools. The current administration of the ACLU and some members of the criminal defense bar contribute to the stifling power of inertia. Sitting on the sidelines is not going to solve the problem of drugs in schools. It is not going to help teachers accomplish their primary mission of educating students. It is not going to promote an environment where students can grow, learn and thrive.

We can wring our hands and worry about the state of our schools and the future our children will live in or we can actually do something about the problem. The time to act is now.

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Peter Carlisle is prosecuting attorney for the City and County of Honolulu.