Breath checks in store for students

Deirdre Newman

Students who consider drinking alcohol before attending high

school functions may soon think twice. The school district will

expand its breathalyzer tests to all students starting this fall.

The Newport-Mesa Unified School District has been using

breathalyzers for the past two years, following the lead of the

Orange Unified School District, to test students suspected of

consuming alcohol.

The new plan, which was discussed during a school board study

session Monday, calls for all students to take the test as they enter

dances and other social events. The goal is to put teeth into the

“zero” part of the district’s zero-tolerance policy on underage

drinking, Supt. Robert Barbot said.

“What we hope is that [once] all students know, they will be less

likely to try and see if they can get by because no one will get by,”

Barbot said.

It will also prevent some students from feeling like they are

being singled out, Barbot added.

The district will be able to test all students because of new

technology that makes the process faster and more efficient, Barbot

said. The consequences will still vary depending on the severity of

intoxication and how many times a student is caught. Penalties

include removing students found drinking from the event, calling

their parents and, in severe cases, expulsion or exclusion from

graduation ceremonies.

But some students question whether expanding the tests is the best

way to spread an anti-alcohol message.

“Personally, I don’t think they should extend it to all students,”

said Rachel Colgate, who brought Every 15 Minutes -- a program that

focuses on the deleterious effects of drunk driving -- to Corona del

Mar High School in the spring. “I think [not drinking] should be a

personal choice. I think it might scare people away.... They should

encourage people in a different way instead of a threat. It’s kind of

an invasion of privacy.”

The school board’s president, Judy Franco, disagrees. She said

it’s up to the district to do whatever it takes to protect students.

“I believe that all parents want their children to be safe and

secure and that whatever is involved in enabling that to take place

should be acceptable.”

* DEIRDRE NEWMAN covers education. She may be reached at (949)

574-4221 or by e-mail at deirdre.newman@latimes.com.