JUNEAU -- High school athletes and students involved in extracurricular activities in the Juneau School District could be facing mandatory random drug testing.

A special task force created by the Juneau School Board is supposed to finish drafting a policy by the end of July.

The task force has also expressed interested in an even broader voluntary drug testing program. Students not involved in school athletics or activities could sign up to be tested, and if they passed would get a special ID card letting them get discounts and free stuff from local businesses.

The idea is modeled after an incentive-based program in Autauga County, Ala. There, test results go to the parents, not to the school or police. It hasn't been independently evaluated, but surveys indicate a 10 percent decrease in alcohol use and a 6.7 percent decrease in marijuana use, said J. Kate Burkhart, executive director of the Advisory Board on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse.

However, she notes that once kids are identified, there is little help for them to overcome drug problems without leaving Juneau. Last year, with no drug testing policy in place, 26 kids were shipped out of town for intensive residential treatment.

"Therapeutic response is slim to none in Juneau," Burkhart said.

Work on a written draft has begun on neither the mandatory nor the voluntary program. Since its first meeting June 17 and through its latest meeting Wednesday, the task force members have gathered facts and a legal opinion, and received a presentation on a variety of programs from Burkhart.

"This is week three and we're barely scratching the surface," task force member Jeff Duvernay told the Juneau Empire.

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