TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Tampa Catholic School: Random Drug Tests A Success

ADVERTISEMENT

By KEITH MORELLI

The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 2, 2008

TAMPA - One by one, 120 times this school year, students were called into the principal's office without warning at Tampa Catholic High School.

It's not that they were in trouble. But they could have been if the school's new random drug testing program turned up evidence of drug use.

It didn't, said outgoing Principal Pat Landry.

"It worked out very positively," Landry said Thursday, a week after school ended for the year. "We did not have a single student test positive, out of 120 students we tested."

The goal was to give students another reason to say no to drugs.

The program, the only one of its kind among Hillsborough County schools, drew national attention and a visit from the nation's drug czar.

Random meant random, Landry said. Tests were done unannounced at different times and days of the week. Some students were tested more than once because of the luck of the draw.

Those selected from the school's enrollment of 800 students were called to the principal's office and submitted to a mouth swab. The sample was put into a vial and placed in its own envelope that was sent to a lab for analysis, she said.

The test screens for eight drugs. One positive test would result in counseling and follow-up testing. A second positive test would mean expulsion.

The program will continue next year under new Principal Tom Reidy, the school's former dean. Landry is retiring after 17 years at Tampa Catholic High.

She said the idea of randomly testing students had been kicking around for a few years and last year she decided to do it. The program is modeled after a similar initiative at Clearwater Central Catholic High School, which began testing students in 2002.

In December, John P. Walters, the U.S. drug czar, visited the school after hearing of the program. Students told him that the program was less of a hassle than they had expected, although some said they thought their privacy had been invaded.

Some parents also expressed privacy concerns, but all signed consent forms.

Public schools only do random testing of athletes in certain programs.

Reporter Keith Morelli can be reached at kmorelli@tampatrib.com or (813) 259-7760.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT