Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
Drug testing at Warsaw Community High School will resume this month, according to Warsaw Schools Superintendent Dr. Lee Harman.
The high school previously had a drug-testing program but stopped it in August 2000 following an Indiana Court of Appeals ruling that said safety issues must be involved to justify a drug-testing program. The program at WCHS tested student athletes, students who drove to school and those involved in extracurricular activities.
Harman said the program now will randomly test student athletes, drivers and students who participate in vocational work programs because substance abuse is a safety issue with all three groups.
He also said administrators believe it is time to resume the testing program.
"We're seeing evidence that we need to put it back into place," he said. "We have seen an increase in the number of cases of substance abuse, especially this year."
The random testing, which is administered by Kosciusko Community Hospital, assigns numbers to the students, and the numbers are randomly drawn by computer at KCH on a weekly basis, Harman said.
He said the testing also served as a deterrence for other students who may be taking drugs or drinking.
The program will not begin until the administration has had a chance to hold parent meetings, Harman said.
A mandatory meeting for student-athletes and their parents is scheduled for Monday at 6 p.m. in the Tiger Den, and a second meeting will be at 6 p.m. Feb. 18.
