Justin L. Mack

justin.mack@Indystar.com

After years of delays, rising tensions and hours of discussion, a proposal to randomly drug-test Zionsville High School students was approved Monday night.

The Zionsville School Board voted 3-2 in favor of the new policy which requires any students who elect to participate in extra-curricular activities or park on school property to consent to random drug tests.

Students who fail a drug test will be required to enter and complete a drug counseling program.

The approved plan is a variation of one supported years ago by the Zionsville Student Rights Union. They also proposed that only students who park or participate in after-school programs be tested, but the union plan wanted students to face no consequences at school, and for positive results to only be reported to parents.

The original plan included suspending students from extracurricular activities if they test positive and requiring they undergo drug treatment in order to re-enter.

Zionsville again delays high school drug testing

Fox59 reports that Boone County Sheriff Michael Nielsen spoke at Monday's meeting to discuss the prevalence of drug use among students. He said by year's end, his department will see more than 20 overdose deaths of young people in the community.

Opponents agree that fighting the drug problem should be a top priority, but argue that the random testing will have a negative impact on trust in the school community.

Officials hope to begin the drug testing next school year. According to IndyStar archives, each test would cost about $36, and the program's total price tag is estimated to be between $5,000 and $6,500.

The tests would be paid for with concession and vending machine revenues.

With the move, Zionsville Community School becomes the latest Indiana school corporation to screen students in an effort to crack down on drug use.

The Tippecanoe School Corp. in Lafayette kicked things off in 1988 after winning a case in the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals and setting precedent for other school corporations.

Since the Tippecanoe case, random drug testing has expanded to about half of Indiana schools including Noblesville which began a random drug testing policy more than 10 years ago, officials said.

Call IndyStar reporter Justin L. Mack at (317) 444-6138. Follow him on Twitter: @justinlmack.