Belvidere School District students in sixth, seventh, and eighth grades have more to worry about than finishing their summer reading before the start of school.

The Belvidere School Board on Wednesday adopted a random drug and alcohol testing policy for middle school students starting in the 2011-12 school year.

Middle school students will enter the program on a voluntary basis with parental consent. A positive test will require at least six visits with a guidance counselor or nurse, and attendance in an early intervention program.

Parents would have to cover the cost of the treatment program.

The drug policy has been in place for Belvidere High School students since 2008, where students must agree to be in the random testing pool in order to participate in athletics and extracurricular activities and to receive a parking permit. The middle school testing program does not include any incentives for students to sign up.



The school board began discussing the possibility of extending the program to middle school students in January, but Swaneveld said it took time to officially approve because of administrative changes and ironing out specifics.

School Board Vice President Brian Smith said the policy is intended to be "care-oriented" and not a form of punishment.

The policy also permits undercover operations.

Swaneveld said students will not be noticing, for instance, any 6-foot tall, muscle-bound undercover cops trying to sneak into a classroom wearing a Justin Bieber T-shirt.

North Warren to test

Officials in the North Warren Regional School District adopted a random drug policy of their own last week for high school students. Similar to the practice at Belvidere High School, students engaged in athletics and extracurricular activities and park on campus must consent to the testing. Roughly 10 percent of the 700 students will be subjected to the testing next school year, school officials say.



Different than Belvidere, North Warren Regional decided not to extend the policy to seventh- and eighth-graders because of previous state Supreme Court decisions which only approved the drug policies of high schools.