Tier schools cool toward testing teens for steroids
N.J. first state with policy on screening high school athletes, By: George Basler
ALBANY -- New Jersey last week became the first state in the country to adopt a policy to test high school athletes for steroids, an issue New York senators have approved numerous times since 1997 but which the Assembly has not supported.
Anabolic-steroid use has been a hot topic in the United States, especially among professional baseball players. Last year, Congress held a hearing on performance-enhancing drugs in the Major Leagues.
Concern that the national attention could spur more young people to take steroids has been filtering down to high school sports. Officials worry that the promise of bulging biceps and pectoral superpower overwhelms the threat of Adam's apples for girls, breasts for boys and other serious health effects.
But the idea of schools testing student athletes for steroids received a skeptical reception from Southern Tier school officials.
The proposal is "ludicrous," said Tom Hahne, athletic director in the Vestal Central School District. Parents, not the school district, have the responsibility to take care of their child's health issues, he said.
"As a parent, I want my child's health concerns dealt with within my family," the Vestal athletic director said. Schools already give physicals to student athletes, but these physicals focus on making sure students are physically able to compete, not checking for drugs, he said.
The New York legislation passed the Senate and is in the Assembly Codes Committee. If it passes, the state Education Department would develop guidelines for schools. If a district opted in, athletes would sign consent forms, as would parents if they were under 18.
The legislation would establish a new felony crime of criminal sale of an anabolic steroid to a minor.
The goal of the New York legislation is to ensure a level playing field during competition and encourage users to seek treatment, said Assemblyman Harvey Weisenberg, D-Nassau County, a sponsor.
"The purpose and intent of this bill is to protect kids," he said. "Nobody's punishing anybody."
Since steroid testing is an expensive proposition -- more than $100 for a comprehensive analysis -- the bill calls for a $5 million school grant program.
THE COST OF TESTING
Nationally, 13 percent of high schools had drug-testing policies for illegal or prohibited substances in 2003, according to a survey by the National Federation of State High School Associations, the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association and the National Center for Drug Free Sport. Only 29 percent checked for anabolic steroids.
New Jersey's state athletic association voted this week to implement a policy to randomly test athletes who qualify for championship play. New Mexico has a pilot test program in four high schools, said Kay Hawes of the Center for Drug Free Sport. Florida, Texas, Michigan and California are among other states that have considered such testing.
The Susquehanna Valley Central School District in Conklin approved a policy in 2000 but never implemented it because there was a community outcry against it, said then-school board President Sandra Ruffo. There were issues of confidentiality, feelings that athletes were unfairly targeted, and complaints that parents, not schools, should handle children's substance-abuse problems, she said. The district was not focusing on steroids, but on alcohol and commonly used illegal drugs.
If the state mandates steroid testing, SV would have to comply, Superintendent Carol S. Boyce said. But the district would have to do a great deal of research before accepting any grant money to do testing for steroids.
She said she would have to gauge community feeling before considering it. That would involve discussions with coaches, parents, booster clubs, school nurses and health teachers about the idea, she said.
Education in health classes, and by coaches and parents, is preferable to testing, she said. "I think being proactive far outweighs the advantages of being reactive," she said.
Hahne agreed; schools are educational institutions, and teaching about the dangers of steroid use in health classes is appropriate, he said. The district has pamphlets on the harmful effects of steroids that coaches can give to players. But school districts shouldn't be in the monitoring business.
The Fort Edward Union Free School District in Washington County conducts drug testing on athletes and is the only one state Public High School Athletic Association staff said they knew of.
The district started testing a number of years ago and stopped, then restarted two years ago, Superintendent Stan Maziejka said. One-third of athletes in each sport are tested each season for marijuana, cocaine and opiates. Tests are about $35 each; 98 percent of athletes were clean last year and 100 percent this year, he said.
Testing for steroids too would be expensive, so the district probably would apply for a state grant, he said.
TESTING 'A DETERRENT'
Studies show steroid use is not rampant among teens. Four percent of high schoolers surveyed last year said they had used the drug at least once, compared to a low of 2.2 percent in 1993 and a high of 6.1 percent in 2003, a new report by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found.
"The purpose of drug testing is to deter the student athlete from taking the substance in the first place," Hawes said. "They (students) tell us it's a deterrent ..."
But David Garbarino, director of health, physical education and athletics for the Binghamton City School district, said he's confident that steroid use is not widespread here. He also noted that testing is expensive, and the district would have to hire someone to administer the tests.
Also, there is a question of what would happen to a student who tested positive, he said. What would his punishment be? Would the student be banned forever from school sports, or for just a season?
Besides cost, some districts have shied away because of civil-liberties issues.
The New York Civil Liberties Union opposes the current legislation because it would "sink $5 million into testing" and does not have an education component, said Donna Lieberman, executive director. "The scope of the bill goes way beyond steroids and provides for random testing of some athletes for a whole range of drugs," she said. Athletes enjoy a different status in school, but they don't lose their right to privacy when they hit the ball field, Lieberman said.
Jerry Diehl of the National Federation of State High School Associations disagreed. "Sports are a privilege, not a right," he said.
A 1995 Supreme Court decision found that random testing of student athletes was constitutional.
Lloyd Mott of the New York State Public High School Athletic Association said his group emphasizes education and prevention over testing but does not oppose the legislation because it would be voluntary and guidelines would be uniform.
"We're still of the belief that we're in the business of education and that we can prevent these things from happening through education," he said.
Gannett News service writer Cara Matthews and staff writer George Basler contributed to this report.
