School Trustees Back Drug Searches by Dogs
A proposal to use trained dogs to detect drugs on school property won the support of school board trustees Tuesday.
The policy would expand current search and seizure provisions by allowing school officials to conduct canine inspections unannounced. While the policy will likely be employed mainly at Los Alamitos High School, it is also an option for schools across the district, Trustee Del Clark said Wednesday.
“It’s a preventive measure,” Clark said. “We don’t have an overwhelming problem with drugs in the high school to my knowledge. But we know it occurs, and we want to take a proactive stance.”
Dogs have been used to search out drugs in Costa Mesa, Fountain Valley, Huntington Beach, Newport Beach and Westminster schools. While the canine crews have met with objections in some of those districts, a survey last year by students at Los Alamitos High showed that the majority was in favor of such a policy, Trustee Matt Duggan said.
“They feel schools are not a place for drugs,” Duggan said. “They should be clean and safe. It’s nice to see our students in that frame of mind.”
Under law, policy changes requires a second reading, so the school board will review the dog proposal at its meeting Feb. 5, trustees said.
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