D-12 ready to launch voluntary drug testing at high school

Cheyenne Mountain School District 12 is poised to begin voluntary drug testing of high school students later this month, and administrators Wednesday outlined how the program will work.

There were plenty of questions from the handful of parents who attended the   meeting at Cheyenne Mountain High School.

The district hopes the pilot program will attract at least 50 students out of the 1,400 attending the school. So far, 27 students have signed up, said Superintendent Walt Cooper.

Several parents signed up Wednesday evening, but others wanted to mull it over.
Another informational meeting is planned for 5 p.m. Sept. 15 at the high school before back to school night activities. Letters and applications have been sent to parents.

Only a handful of schools in the state have drug testing, and District 12 is the only one in the county to have a program.

“This really isn’t an attempt to catch them at something,” Cooper said. “Our motivation is to provide a really strong reason for students to say no to messing up. If this is a deterrent, we will feel we are successful.”

A few parents wanted  guaranteed testing, but it must be random, Cooper said. Some might never be tested, others might be tested several times.

There will be no cost to the district. Parents will pay $30 to enroll each student and the program will be administered by Conspire!, a local company that does drug testing for workplaces, athletic associations, legal entities and sponsors teen town hall events. It will collect the urine specimens at the high school and conduct laboratory work.

The company will randomly select student ID numbers and parents or guardians will not be notified prior to the test.  Students will be called individually to a nurses station with a secure bathroom so they can take a so-called quick screening test.

Students who refuse the drug test will be considered “positive.” In the event of a “non-negative” result, the parent will be notified to pick their child up from school. The positive sample will be sent for further testing. Those who test negative will be given documentation.

The test looks for cocaine, amphetamines, meth, opiates and THC, the active ingredient in marijuana.

Only athletes or kids who drive to school will be subject to disciplinary actions  if they have a positive test, Cooper said. The athletes can be suspended, or for repeated infractions barred from sports. Others can lose their campus driving and parking privileges.

One father said he won’t sign up for the program because it’s unfair to athletes, and felt there should be consequences for others. Cooper explained that legally that was the only group that can be penalized because athletics isn’t tied to curriculum such as music and theater.

The school will suggest counseling for students who test positive, but can’t require it.   

One mother said she is signing up her daughters because it gives them an excuse among their peers to not take drugs. “They can say their mother signed them up and so they can’t do it.”  
The voluntary drug program is part of a larger undertaking started about  two years ago to rework  health and education courses for all students. The district got a $40,000  health and wellness grant from the Colorado Department of Education to revise curriculum.

The district was rocked by a drug incident in 2008. Colorado Springs police uncovered  a “significant” heroin problem at Cheyenne Mountain High School. Former students and others were arrested in a bust linked to the school, but no students were arrested.

District surveys showed support for drug testing.

The board voted unanimously for the voluntary program, discarding a mandatory policy because of legal hurdles and expenses.