School Board Endorses Voluntary Steroid Testing

The Los Angeles Unified School District board voted Monday to endorse a plan to allow voluntary testing for steroid use among high school athletes.

The plan, by board member Roberta Weintraub, calls on individual schools to develop their own testing programs. Athletes found to have used steroids will be banned from school sports for a year.

The board rejected a provision that would have allowed mandatory testing of athletes at selected sports events, citing constitutional concerns.

The testing, along with education programs warning youngsters about the dangers of the substances, will be conducted at no cost to the district, which is seeking private or government funds for the project.