C-J attacks Senate Bill 1

This from the Courier-Journal:

Education reform attacked

It has been state Senate Majority Leader Dan Kelly's long-term mission to sabotage the nationally praised education reform program that emerged from the 1990 General Assembly and remains one of the state legislature's historic achievements.

The last great assault came in 1998, and it was beaten back only with furious counterattack and a few tactical concessions.

This year Mr. Kelly is joined by Senate President David Williams in attempting to blunt the thrust of the Kentucky Education Reform Act, by passing Senate Bill 1.

It is difficult to overstate the damage this bill would inflict. Most important, it would undo the accountability that's based on the Commonwealth Accountability Testing System. CATS would be replaced with national tests that are not based on the Kentucky curriculum, would not test higher learning skills, would defy the KERA precept that every student can become proficient and would place Kentucky athwart the No Child Left Behind Act.

Most devastating would be the effective removal of portfolios from the accountability system, because writing is the capstone skill with which students demonstrate their ability to gather, interpret and communicate information and ideas. To ensure that writing gets less emphasis in classrooms across Kentucky would be a real travesty...

...Some of those appearing to join the Kelly-Williams attack should remember that there are political consequences, because many Kentuckians are proud of KERA's successes, and proud of the progress Kentucky students have made. Voters will take note of those like Sen. Tim Shaughnessy, D-Louisville, who embolden the anti-KERA offensive by insisting "there's nothing wrong with revisiting, revising and updating the accountability system." Shame on Mr. Shaughnessy. He knows full well the intent is to subvert.

Education Commissioner Jon Draud can't let SB 1 go unchallenged. Mr. Draud's defenders, at the time of his controversial rushed appointment, said he is a school man, first and foremost. If so, he can't sit on his hands now. A shroud of neutrality won't cover his culpability if he refuses to stand up to SB 1. He's a former superintendent. He knows it was wrong, as Marion County Superintendent Roger Marcum points out, to push "a major change in where we're going without consulting educators."

Sen. Williams, presumably with a straight face, calls the proposed SB1 sabotage of KERA a "natural progression." That must mean be thinks all good things must come to an end.

Bullitt to test student athletes for drugs Program is part of national study

Starting this school year, at least half of the student athletes at Bullitt Central and Bullitt East high schools will be called from their classrooms, escorted to a trailer and asked to give a urine sample.

It's part of the district's controversial plan to start using random drug testing for athletes, with plans to expand testing next year to students in all its middle and high schools who are involved inany competitive extra-curricular event.

The district will be one of 36 school systems across the nation participating in a study by the National Center for Education Evaluation to see if testing curtails drug use among high school students. In exchange, Bullitt County will receive $140,000 a year for five years.

"This program is going to prove that the students here aren't using drugs," Jaime Goldsmith, who serves as the district's safe and drug free schools coordinator, recently told a group of athletes and their parents at Bullitt East High School.

But many parents and advocacy groups say that the testing is unfair, ineffective and violates student privacy.

"I don't like it," said Theresa Rodriguez, whose 15-year-old son will play on Bullitt Central's football team and who thinks the program is wrong to focus only on athletes. "They're hurting these children, not helping them."

Bullitt joins 65 other school districts across the state that participate in some form of random student drug testing, according to Brad Hughes, spokesman for the Kentucky School Boards Association...

This from the Courier-Journal. And this C-J Editorial:

Testing the jocks

It's been our view that the U.S. Supreme Court got it right in 1985, when it said students should be able to attend public high schools without fear of a random search of their persons or belongings.

Since that time, the Court has been limiting the rights of students, including with approval of random drug testing for those involved in extracurricular activities. The theory is that a school's interest in dealing effectively with drug problems outweighs a student's expectation of privacy.

Such testing has spread widely, including, this next school year, to at least half the student athletes at Bullitt Central and Bullitt East high schools, and later to all middle and high school students who participate in competitive extra-curricular activities.

Oldham County was a pioneer, having begun random drug testing among student athletes eight years ago. Neither Jefferson County's nor Southern Indiana's schools have adopted the practice.

Although drug use among teens has declined across the country in recent years, the problem remains serious, and the consequences remain dire. Abuse of prescriptions and other legal substances remains high, according to a government survey released a few months ago.

In that poll, taken among 48,460 8th- 10th- and 12th-graders nationwide, about 15 percent reported having used illegal drugs in the past month. That's down from 19.4 percent in 2001, but it still represents enormous personal and civic jeopardy.

If that justifies random drug testing in schools, it should be conducted in non-punitive programs that guide users toward counseling, treatment and ongoing support, all made available to those whose parents can't afford to pay.

Bullitt to randomly check student athletes

As early as next year, some Bullitt County student athletes will be randomly tested for drug use.
The county received a five-year $500,000 federal grant for the testing, which is part of a larger study to see if it curtails drug use among high school students.

This from the Courier-Journal.