CDTAC TO DRUG TEST STUDENTS THIS YEAR

NATCHEZ - Adams County Christian School is giving its students an excuse to
say no to drugs.

Starting this fall every student in grades seven through 12 will be drug
tested once. After everyone has been tested once, all names will go back
into a pool for random drug testing for the remainder of the year.

"The total objective is we want to give our kids a tool to say no with,"
Headmaster John Gray said. "We try to give our dead level best to offer our
student body a drug-free campus."

Gray said drug-testing talks had been ongoing for sometime, but the policy
was finalized at Wednesday night's school board meeting.

The drug tests are not the result of a specific incident, he said, but will
help cut back on rumors among parents and students.

The testing will be done through a local private company, Workforce
Consultants. Gray said every student would be tested at least once by the
end of the first semester.

The tests will be funded through government grant money the school recently
received.

"Funds were a major reason it hasn't been done before," Gray said. "We
really want it handled professionally."

Each student will be tested for five types of drugs. Parents were notified
at the beginning of the month about the tests and received a copy of the
drug policy. The policy will become a part of the school handbook. A
student consent form must be signed and returned to the headmaster by the
end of the first week of school.

The tests are mandatory for any student attending the school. If a test
comes back positive for drug use the administration will follow a
discipline procedure that includes probation time and could ultimately lead
to expulsion.

ACCS joins the other private and parochial schools in town that have
testing policies of some sort.

Cathedral School does not do scheduled or random testing but does have a
policy that any student can be tested if there is suspicion, Principal Pat
Sanguinetti said.

Trinity Episcopal Day School's handbook has a similar policy and includes
random drug testing in grades seven through 12. Positive tests or test
refusals can result in expulsion.