Bill proposes drug test for high school student athletes
PHOENIX - The state sensate yesterday gave preliminary approval to a law that would allow school districts to treat their athletes just like their college counterparts by administering random drug tests.
The bill's sponsor, Sen. Ruth Solomon, D-Tucson, said it would do more than punish student athletes for using drugs.
The bill would allow testing for illegal and controlled substances such as steroids and marijuana, as well as alcohol.
"It is intended to help young athletes who may be in danger of using illegal drugs," Solomon said told members of the Senate Education Committee last week.
She said she supports the bill because it gives school districts the option for random testing rather than requiring them to establish such procedures.
The University of Arizona already randomly tests a minimum of 33 percent of student athletes.
One committee member said he supported the bill, but questioned the legality of singling out athletes from the rest of the student body.
"I don't know if an athlete on a football field is any more dangerous than a non-athlete on speed with a pistol," Sen. Rusty Bowers, R-Mesa, said.
Bowers said he thinks schools need to focus their efforts on the source of a bigger drug problem: campus dealers.
"These are the guys killing people, not your steroid-crazed quarterbacks," he said.
Solomon said the bill targets athletes because of their reputation as campus leaders. She said a 1995 U.S. Supreme Court decision allowed the drug testing of high school athletes.
Under the bill it would be up to districts to establish punishments, but the cases would not be referred to the police.
A University of Arizona athlete who fails a drug test faces counseling, further testing or possible team dismissal.
In 1997, the Tucson Unified School District Board blocked Santa Rita High School from starting a drug-testing program, citing possible constitutional problems.
Although there is no legal precedent in Arizona for drug testing for high school student athletes, some districts have started testing. Paradise Valley Unified School District administrator Jim Dechello said their district began administering urine tests in 1992. He said the cost of the state drug test is about $13, while the cost of the steroid test runs almost $50.
Dechello said Paradise Valley tests roughly 20 percent of their student athletes. Local school districts would have to pay for the tests, Solomon said.
Under the bill, only the student, the principal and his or her parents would know the test results. If adopted, SB 1028 would also require the State Board of Education to establish guidelines for all testing procedures.
The bill faces a full Senate vote and must be passed by the House of Representatives before heading to Gov. Jane Hull's desk. An identical bill was passed by the full Senate last year, but never came up for a vote in the House.
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