Educator defends drug proposals for Suffolk

The sole educator on the Suffolk Legislature's heroin advisory panel Friday defended the group's recommendations for drug-sniffing dogs in schools and drug tests for student athletes, citing his district's experience with police dogs sniffing lockers for banned substances.

Critics, meanwhile, argued the proposed policies could infringe on student privacy, create a hostile learning environment and expend limited resources in an inefficient way.

The recommendations - that high school athletes be screened for illegal drug use as part of required physicals and that districts be encouraged to bring sniffing police dogs into schools - were among 48 submitted to lawmakers Thursday by the 12-member panel.

"Heroin could take a kid out, so we should do everything we can," said panel member Edward Ehmann, superintendent of the Smithtown school district. "My job is to create an environment where kids can go to school and get a sanctuary from all the street stuff."

Smithtown is the first Suffolk district to accept County Executive Steve Levy's offer to use county police dogs to sniff school lockers.

On its first visit on Nov. 18, a Suffolk police K-9 unit walked through Smithtown High School East during school hours and found in one locker a marijuana pipe with residue and two pills, Police Commissioner Richard Dormer said Friday. A 16-year-old student was charged with possession of marijuana, Dormer said.

To avoid contact with dogs, students were instructed to stay in their classrooms while the K-9 unit was in the building.

Drug-sniffing dogs and student drug testing raise legal questions that have not been resolved by the courts, legal experts said Friday. Some courts have held that dogs may not sniff a student if authorities have no suspicion the student possesses drugs. In New York State, student drug testing can be done only with the consent of the parent.

The heroin panel said physicals for interscholastic sports present a "unique opportunity to integrate drug testing." But East Islip Superintendent Wendell Chu said such students are less likely to engage in risky behavior. School districts can use dwindling resources more effectively by hiring more guidance counselors and social workers, Chu said.