FPS Drug Testing Policy: A Debate

By Gordon HopkinsDrug testing has been a controversial subject for Fairbury Public Schools since 2019, when the Board of Education voted unanimously to add nicotine to the school's drug testing protocols and policy. FPS gained brief national attention when it became one of the first schools in the country to do so.After years of debate, the Fairbury Public School Board of Education voted, in a three to one decision, to eliminate the Extracurricular Drug Testing Program at a meeting Monday evening, August 8, 2022.Dr. Jonathan Winter was the sole ‘No’ vote. Two other members of the board, Jacie Milius and Sharon Ebke, were not in attendance at the meeting.The Lone “No” VoteThe board has previously held what School Superintendent Stephen Grizzle described as a ‘work session’ to revisit Policy 501, the drug testing policy, on Friday, July 29. On the school board agenda were options to change elements or the program and to eliminate nicotine from the array. Instead, the board opted to eliminate the policy in its entirety.Prior to the vote, Winter said, “I feel that the additions and changes that we came up with during our work session are a good step and hopefully making this policy more restorative to the youth of our district and hopefully helping become successful adult.” After the vote, Winter, described the decision as, “Burying your head in the sand.”Relationships with Students“I've been thinking about this last couple of weeks, it has come out of this policy is the relationship aspect because it is, it's very hard to describe, but when a student has tested positive, and we've had those conversations,” said Fairbury High School Principal Sean Molloy. “They can talk about it a little bit with you. And it helps strengthen that relationship. So, you can check in with them more frequently to make sure that, you know, you're either giving them replacement behaviors.”Grizzle pointed out that the school still has a drug policy. This decision eliminates random drug testing of students participating in extracurricular activities only, “At the beginning, I set out to two main goals we implemented drug testing policy goals. One was to illustrate that we do not have a huge drug problem in the school. Goal number two was hopefully to give students an opportunity or a reason to say no.”OverreachOne reason given by board president Barry Schwab was what he called overreach, “My first few years on the board, this policy wasn't even on my radar. It wasn't until we debated and decided to add nicotine to the array that I really took much note on the policy. And I voted to add nicotine to the array at the time. I think everybody here did. And that was before COVID-19, too. What does that have to do with anything? For me, I'll say that, the last two years have given me a very different perspective on authority. Reasonable limits of authority. And I think with, especially with the difficulty that this policy has presented to us over the last couple of years, that we've debated it periodically, I think that what we've got here is just a policy that's fundamentally flawed. I don't think it is within the school mandate. I understand the incentive objectives that this policy seeks to achieve. But I think it's overreach.”Grizzle said, “I guess the only other thing that I would like to say is, you know, I think when we implement a policy, we're doing it in a good faith effort to be proactive. And we feel like there's a number of parents who don't realize their kids do drugs or vaping. This was an opportunity for them to become aware. Is it governmental overreach? Quite possibly. I'm not a big fan of government overreach, myself.”The Role of SchoolsBoard member Jodi Starr also voted to rescind the policy. She expressed concerns about the additional burden the policy placed on school staff.“Well, I thought, I mean, you already have the stress on teachers,” said Starr. “We're supposed to be drug counsellors. We're supposed to be mental health experts. We're supposed to clothe and feed our kids.”Starr said, “All the burden has come back on the public school system.”Efficacy of the PolicyStarr also had doubts that the policy was having the intended impact, “It doesn't test every student. It can't test every student. It's unlawful to test every student. You can only test participants. You had 12 positives last year, five of which were two of the same kid. So, I guess that shows you that you don't have a drug problem, or maybe the drug problem is with the non-participants, but you can't test them. I also know of kids that have tested positive, like I said last year, and like I said at the last board meeting, they're still doing it.”Random TestingDrug testing was intended to be random. Some individuals have expressed doubt that drug testing was so. Starr raised the point during a previous school board meeting, “I watch who gets tested. And we can say it's random. And you guys can tell me till you're blue in the face, it's random. I just don't believe it.”Starr said, “Because you have people that are going their whole (school) career without being tested. And you have people that ding once, and they're tested four months later, just randomly? Random? I don't buy it.”Other individuals have expressed doubt that drug testing is random, including Fairbury City Councilperson Bradley Kuzelka, who posted on Facebook, “It's not ‘random’ anyway. My kids have all been tested, multiple times, usually all on the same day. That means 2 Kuzelka kids have ‘randomly’" selected at the same time on multiple occasions over several years.”Public ReactionPrior to the decision, Fairbury Mayor Spencer Brown, posted on Facebook, “Speaking as a parent of 6 kids (not mayor). It's come to my attention that the Fairbury school board may potentially roll back and get rid of drug testing. I am not sure I understand or have heard a good argument to change this…”After the decision, Mayor Brown expressed his disappointment at the decision on Facebook, “What a sad day…Fairbury Public School, board members (Angie) Judd, Starr and Schwab voted successfully to recind (sic) the schools drug testing policy. I applaud the efforts of Board member Winter and the administration that stood up against drug use.”Peggy Galloway, director of Jefferson County Diversion Services, responded to the Mayor's post, “I feel that, especially at this time in our society, we as adults need to do everything we can to deter kids from drinking, smoking and using drugs. Early intervention is key to stopping the problem before it becomes a life-long addiction. With fentanyl being slipped into everything from marijuana, meth, cocaine, heroin and pills (which have all been found in this county), it's a crisis that is only getting worse. All kids in the jr-sr high school should be in the random pool for testing. There are tests that cost $10 that the school nurse could administer and read the results. If someone is found to be positive, the parents should be notified and law enforcement - it is illegal after all and they have to be getting it from somewhere. The school can also refer them to Blue Valley Behavioral Health to do a drug/alcohol assessment and mental health screening to determine which direction the family can take to a) stop the use and b) find out if there is trauma that pushed them into it in the first place. The school spends more time with the kids than anyone else, so if they suspect someone is under the influence, they should be ready to steer them in the direction of getting help. Keep in mind that it only takes enough fentanyl to equal five grains of salt to kill an adult. This isn't the time to do less, but do more.”

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