Not so fast.

Lawrence school board members on Monday put off approving a policy aimed at testing high school students for alcohol before school-sponsored dances.

The delay stemmed from members wanting to clarify the consequences for twice testing positive and to negate the possibility of a student testing both positive and negative.

“At our next meeting, I’m sure these (clarifications) will be approved,” said board vice president Sue Morgan. The board’s next meeting is Dec. 12.

School officials began drafting the policy after fielding reports of some students appearing intoxicated during the Free State High School Firestarter Dance in late August.

As proposed, each student would be required to breathe on a hand-held monitor that will detect the presence of alcohol. Those who test positive will be given a second test to measure the level of alcohol.

The first test takes only 10 seconds; the second takes 20 to 30 seconds. The process will screen out traces of alcohol from mouthwash and cold medicine.

• 6News video: School board delays approving Breathalyzer policy (11-28-05)

Students who have been drinking – they do not have to be legally intoxicated – will be banned from school-sponsored dances for a calendar year. But they will not be suspended or expelled from school.

Pete Curran, the board’s legal counsel, explained that U.S. Supreme Court rulings have found that students are entitled to an education and are protected from unreasonable searches. Testing for alcohol, he said, is considered a search.

But students are not entitled to extracurricular activities – dances, for example – and may be searched then. The district, he said, would open itself to a lawsuit if it connected denying a student access to an education with the results of an all-student search during an extracurricular activity.

Board members spent almost an hour debating:

¢ How long students should be banned from the dances if they test positive at two dances;

¢ Whether a junior high student’s slate would be wiped clean of alcohol violations after reaching the ninth grade;

¢ Whether it’s fair to not let a senior who tested positive to participate in commencement.

Milton Scott, chairman of the Free State High School Site Council, said banning a senior from taking part in graduation was overly harsh and singling out dances for testing seemed unfair.

“Why not at sporting events, too?” Scott asked.

After much discussion, the board agreed the policy will ban students – no matter their grade – from all dances if they test positive a second time. Seniors who drink at or before the last dance of the school year will not be allowed to take part in commencement.