Student Athletes to Be Tested for Drugs
Student athletes at Corona del Mar High School will be tested for drugs beginning this fall.
The board of the Newport-Mesa Unified School District on Tuesday passed a plan proposed by a Corona del Mar High School booster club to begin a pilot drug-testing program at the school.
If successful, officials said, the program might be duplicated at the three other high schools in the district.
Each week, 10 students will be chosen at random to be screened for use of alcohol, marijuana, amphetamines and cocaine, officials said. If the test results were positive, they would be shared only with the parents of the students.
Trustees explained that the program is intended to inform parents so they may decide whether to seek help for children who may be using drugs or alcohol.
Parents at the Newport Beach high school have given overwhelming support to the plan, Principal Donald K. Martin said. More than 95% of those who responded to a survey conducted by the administration said they wanted random drug testing.
Martin said the school projects that it will spend $5,000 a year on the tests and that the administration will seek donations from campus booster groups and corporations to pay for the program.
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