Private school to begin using drug-sniffing dogs

By Jennifer Hiller
Advertiser Education Writer

A small O'ahu private school will use drug-sniffing dogs on campus next school year to try to stem the spread of illegal drugs, officials announced yesterday.

Academy of the Pacific officials said they are the first school in the state to start using the dogs on a regular basis.

The announcement comes at a time when lawmakers continue to weigh drug-testing programs in public schools and there are concerns about an escalating "ice" crisis in Hawai'i.

Dorothy Douthit, the head of school who oversees 140 students in grades six through 12 on the 'Alewa Drive campus, said the idea of using drug-sniffing dogs or starting drug testing has been discussed for years.

But she said concerns about an increase in crystal methamphetamine use in Hawai'i played a part in the decision to begin with the new school year.

"It's one more tool to keep the campus safe," she said. "We feel like we want to take a proactive stand instead of being constantly reactive. Now that there's ice in the community we felt that we had to act."

Experts estimate there are 30,000 hard-core crystal methamphetamine users in Hawai'i who consume almost 106 pounds — or $5.1 million worth — of the drug per day.

Douthit said that while Academy of the Pacific officials have not found ice on campus, a student was caught with marijuana last year.

The dogs, provided by the Maui-based Interquest Detection Canine agency, will be on campus twice a month to check cars, lockers and backpacks for illegal drugs, alcohol, firearms, ammunition and over-the-counter medication.

Douthit said the dogs will be less invasive than student drug testing. "We wanted to be the first and do a positive thing to stem the tide of drug use," she said.

The school will continue its program that moves children who are suspected of drug or alcohol use into inpatient or outpatient treatment if it's needed.

"We're not stopping other things. We're just adding to it," Douthit said. "The kids feel like they'll feel safer, that it will be easier to say no."

Although substance abuse has declined among students in recent years, the issue of drug testing has come to the forefront.

Senate President Robert Bunda, who unsuccessfully pushed for passage of a bill for a public school student drug testing program last session, said he hopes more schools follow the lead of Academy of the Pacific.

"I think it's a worthy idea," he said. "I do know in public schools that kids deal marijuana right in the classroom. It's been indicated that drugs are prevalent in private schools as well."

Senate Bill 1471 would have established a drug-testing pilot project at several public high schools, making the tests mandatory for students who participate in school athletic activities or "physically strenuous" co-curricular activities.

Students who tested positive on a hair follicle analysis would be referred to counseling or treatment rather than punished.

Lawmakers opted instead to form a committee to study the issue this year. Bunda said he plans to again push during the 2004 session for some type of drug testing in the schools and more treatment options for the community at large.

Bunda was not aware of any drug-sniffing dog programs at other private schools in Hawai'i, but said the program was another way to catch drug users earlier.

Melvin Seo, safety and security specialist with the Department of Education, said the specially trained dogs have been used at times on public school campuses, but they have been brought in by the Honolulu Police Department in specific situations. A bomb threat, for example, might be a time when dogs are brought to a campus, Seo said.

The state Board of Education, which sets policy for the district, has never included drug testing or drug-sniffing dogs as part of its safety plan.

"It comes up every now and then, but it comes back to decision makers," Seo said. "It comes back to the board. If the board believes a policy is needed they will do it."

If the board were to consider such a policy, it would likely need to work with the attorney general's office to make sure the program was constitutional. "We are probably bound by more rules than a private school would be," Seo said.

The 2002 Hawai'i Student Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drug Use Study by the state Department of Health and the University of Hawai'i found that fewer Hawai'i teenagers are smoking or drinking, but that an increasing number are using the illegal club drug Ecstasy.

The state also is able to provide substance-abuse treatment to just a fraction of the estimated 11,000 students who need it, Department of Health officials have said.

The survey of nearly 28,000 students included students in sixth, eighth, 10th and 12th grades at 181 public and 34 private schools. It shows that substance use and abuse continued to decline in 2002.

For example, among Hawai'i high school seniors, smoking is down 21 percent since 1996 and drinking is down 12 percent since 1987. Methamphetamine use is down by more than half since 1989.

Reach Jennifer Hiller at jhiller@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8084.