NEW BEDFORD OFFERS YOUTH DRUG-TESTING PLAN

Challenge Involves Getting Volunteers

NEW BEDFORD -- City officials, after a two-year battle, have won
approval for what is believed to be the state's first program to
randomly test students for drugs. Now they face another challenge:
persuading parents to sign their children up for it.

Last month, New Bedford's School Committee cleared the way for drug
testing in the schools, and administrators plan to begin testing in
March. But the program is voluntary, so city officials are planning
incentives to bolster participation.

Parents in this working-class port of 100,000 face a difficult
decision, one that more and more families confront as the federal
government spends millions to push drug testing in schools.

This month, parents of the roughly 7,000 New Bedford students in
grades 6 through 12 will receive letters asking them if they wish to
enroll their children in the program. If the parents agree, their
children will be included in a lottery and could be tested for drugs
at any time.

Some New Bedford parents say it's a family matter, and they object to
having children as young as sixth-graders taken out of class to have
a cotton swab placed in their mouth. Others support the testing,
saying it may be the best way to catch a problem that often starts
during adolescence. Though focus groups organized by a city advisory
board suggest that most parents support the program, some parents
expressed uneasiness and worry that by enrolling their children they
are sending a message that they do not trust them. Students who test
positive will not be reported to the school or the police. Instead, a
private counselor will contact them and their parents to help
address the issue.

Kim Silva's 16-year-old son has straight As, plays sports, and is a
diabetic; she said she does not think he's a drug user. Her daughter,
who is 10, will not be eligible for the program until next year, but
Silva said she is leaning toward signing them up.

"What is it going to hurt?" she said. "I'd rather know. It would make
them think twice."

Still, others resist. "I don't agree with it," said Susan Furtado,
whose son recently graduated and who is guardian of a foster child at
the high school. "I think it's the parents' responsibility, not the
school system. They're there to teach."

According to a 2003 survey, about half of New Bedford's high school
students had recently used alcohol, and 29 percent had recently
smoked marijuana, similar to state averages.

Lieutenant Governor Kerry Healey is backing the New Bedford program
and said the city's decision to start drug testing could be a model
for other communities.

"I think you can never impose a drug-testing program from the top
down," Healey said. "It genuinely has to be a recognized need and
desire from the community."

The state Department of Education does not track drug testing in
schools, but state and city officials say that New Bedford is the
first to start random drug testing and that there is growing
interest elsewhere. Haverhill and Salem have each established a task
force to study drug testing in schools. Other school systems, such
as Assabet Valley Regional Technical High School in
Marlborough, only test students who are suspected of using drugs. In
New Bedford, students who are enrolled in the program could be tested
at any time, said Carl J. Alves, coordinator of the city's drug-free
student assistance program, which is in charge of overseeing
the initiative. If their number is pulled in a computer-generated
lottery, students will get a note telling them to report to a
location, which could change with each test. There they will be asked
to bite down on a swab attached to a stick resembling a toothbrush.

Results of the saliva sample, which will be tested for drugs
including marijuana and opiates, should be available to parents
within 48 hours. The city will hire another firm to offer initial
counseling to students who test positive. To keep the test results
confidential, New Bedford will hire a private company to carry out
the testing primarily at each middle school and the two high
schools. Alves said he expects at least 700 students, about 10
percent of the enr ollment in grades 6 to 12, to sign up over the
next 12 months. The program, which will be paid for through federal
grants of up to $500,000 over three years, can cover the cost of
1,400 tests a year.

Alves said student test results will be kept at the private firm,
which will provide the city with statistics about the outcomes, but
not names. Joy Nightingale, 16, an honors student, said she plans to
talk her parents into signing her up, especially if the school offers
discounts to stores. She said that she does not use drugs, but that
many students do. Students "talk about getting stoned," she said.
"They talk about their 'trips' because they think it's funny. But
when you think about what they're doing to their bodies, it's far less funny."

At the skating rink next to New Bedford High School last week, some
parents, including a city narcotics detective, said they support the
program, but for other people's children.

"I'm probably not going to sign my kid up," said Sergeant Victor
Mendes of the New Bedford police, who occasionally ransacks his son's
dresser drawers to send the message that his son should not be hiding
anything. "I don't think it should be done for everybody."

The question of whether to test is causing some family conflicts.
Terrel Parent, 15, a high school sophomore, opposes testing. But his
mother, Valerie, is interested. "I trust my kid, but I think kids
should know that they may be chosen randomly," she said.

In 2002, the US Supreme Court narrowly upheld the constitutionality
of random drug testing of students in extracurricular activities,
fueling the recent federal push for more testing. Over the past two
years, federal dollars for drug testing have more than tripled, to
$7 million, and so have the number of schools in the program.

In 2005, 30 school systems and 300 schools won the grants to test
students. The school systems are a small percentage of the thousands
in the nation, but federal officials predict that testing will become
more widespread. The American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts
and others have questioned the accuracy of the testing and whether
students' rights might be violated. "The program now still raises a
lot of questions," said a staff lawyer, Sarah Wunsch. "It's voluntary
for the parents, but it doesn't sound voluntary for the kids."