East Texas

By LAUREN GROVER
Staff Writer

Quitman Junior High students are included in a random drug testing policy, school board members decided Monday, after a half-dozen junior highers ingested prescription drugs in late November on campus.

The policy previously included only athletes and other students, grades nine through 12, whose parents signed a release waiver. Board members voted 7-0 on Monday for the policy to include junior high students and any student, grades seven through 12, who participates in athletics or any extracurricular activity, in addition to all students whose parents sign a release waiver.

"These kids' poor judgment has taught them a lesson, and the rest of the students a lesson," he said.

Six-, seventh- and eighth-graders became sick and were taken to the hospital by ambulance Nov. 27 after ingesting the prescription drug Altace brought to school by a student. One boy was transported to Children's Medical Center Dallas later that week for additional tests.

Those students are attending the area's alternative school, Lake Country Learning Center, for "sentences" of six weeks to a semester, Travis said.

"We haven't reached even the minimum sentence yet," he said.

Drug testing - which entails on-the-spot urinalysis - will be conducted by Southwestern Consortium once a month to once every six weeks, Travis said.

Few students will be left out of the pool.

"We're bringing our junior high in on board, and we're trying to close some of the loopholes of extracurricular activities," he said.