Sikeston schools to begin drug, alcohol testing some students

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Sikeston students who participate in extracurricular and cocurricular activities will be subject to drug and alcohol testing beginning in early October.

On Tuesday, the district's board of education approved 6 to 1 the adoption of a student drug testing policy.

A student may be required to submit to a drug test when there is reasonable suspicion that the student is under the influence of or has recently consumed alcohol or any drug prohibited by the district policy.

Students who test positive will be disciplined in accordance with the district's discipline code and may also be temporarily or permanently excluded from all district extracurricular activities. The district will use an outside agency to randomly test students in the pool.

Under the policy, students eligible for random drug testing are those who participate in activities regulated by Missouri State High School Activities Association, excluding all activities in which students receive an academic grade for participation.

Board member Paul H. Boyd was the lone dissenting vote. He said the school board looked at implementing a student drug testing policy eight years ago but decided against it. When he became president of the school board in April 2007, Boyd said, he wanted to look at student drug testing because of the interest shown in the past. He said the current board began studying a policy a month ago but doesn't think it has given the policy due diligence.

Board vice president Rick Adams said at last count, the board had received about 200 signatures from parents in support of a student drug policy.

"We frequently propose policies and build on them without having widespread community input, and that's part of our responsibility as the school board," Adams said.

Adams noted neighboring school districts have had student drug testing policies in place for several years.

Board member Ken Stone said he thought the issue being one of the platforms of the last three people elected to the board, and they're carrying out the will of the people who elected them.

Scott Crumpecker said he struggled with how to vote because he didn't feel this was the traditional way the board goes about matters. Although he called the policy a "feel-good bill," Crumpecker said it's something the board could work on in the future.

Superintendent Steve Borgsmiller said the new policy will go into effect in October.

An orientation session will be held before the policy is implemented to inform students and parents about the policy and to give them a consent form to sign, Borgsmiller said.