[ OUR OPINION ]

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Using drug dogs in schools
demands careful thought

THE ISSUE A state Board of Education committee will recommend that schools be allowed to bring in the dogs if they choose.

USING dogs to detect drugs and other contraband in public schools will involve far more than the simplistic proposal a member of the state Board of Education is advocating. The issues and legal challenges are complex and will require careful charting before such a program can be put into place, if at all.

A Maui-based company that sells drug-sniffing dog services to two private schools conducted demonstrations for a board committee, which apparently impressed Maui member Mary Cochran enough to propose that schools be allowed to hire such businesses.

Cochran says the program would be optional and that schools can solicit donations to pay for it. The small private schools each pay $300 a month for twice-monthly inspections, but the price for public schools, which are much larger, would be much higher. However, money isn't the primary issue.

The key concern should be how to ensure children will not be subjected to unreasonable searches. The proposal would have dogs sniff cars, lockers and backpacks for drugs, alcohol and firearms, but not students. Nonetheless, there have been cases in which dogs in inspection areas veered toward students who were standing or sitting nearby, resulting in lawsuits.

Two U.S. Circuit Courts have ruled that while allowing dogs to sniff student property is legal, there must be reasonable cause to allow the animals near children.

Dogs are commonly used nowadays to detect drugs and bombs in airports and other public and private venues, and police often use them for routine traffic stops. The Supreme Court is considering a case to clarify earlier opinions that the use of dogs is not necessarily a search that falls under the Fourth Amendment ban on unreasonable searches or seizures.

Several school districts on the mainland have allowed drug-sniffing inspections, but worked for years to identify legal issues and to draft guidelines and rules for when and under what circumstances such inspections can take place. If there is no evidence that a school has a significant drug or alcohol problem, but it opts to buy the inspection service, parents might have a legitimate complaint. The lack of uniformity from one school to another also opens the door to challenges.

Other problems include how to certify operations of private companies to ensure they are qualified and that the dogs are sufficiently trained and what procedures will be followed should drugs be identified.

More important, the board must figure out how children will be dealt with and what treatment will be applied if they have substance abuse problems.