FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact Florence Nathan
732-937-7518
March 03, 2009
SCHOOL DRUG TESTING GOES UNDER THE LEGAL MICROSCOPE AT STATE BAR FOUNDATION SEMINAR
“Cramming Won’t Help: School Drug Tests,” the second of a three-part seminar series on Substance Abuse, Schools and the Law, is scheduled for Tuesday, March 3, 2009, 5:15-8 p.m. at the New Jersey Law Center, One Constitution Square off Ryders Lane, New Brunswick. The free series is sponsored by the New Jersey State Bar Foundation.
The seminars are open to educators, substance awareness counselors, student assistance counselors, school administrators, attorneys, psychologists, social workers and other interested members of the public, especially those who work with young people to prevent and/or counsel on substance abuse.
Legal aspects involved in the controversy over testing students for drug use will be examined by Pittstown attorney David G. Evans and Christina M. Steffner, a high school principal. Mr. Evans is the executive director of the Drug-Free Schools Coalition. He was chairperson of Hunterdon Central Regional High School’s Drug Testing Task Force, which developed the student drug-testing program highlighted by the White House in the recent federal pamphlet What You Need to Know About Drug Testing in Schools. Among his publications are Drug Testing Law, Technology and Practice as well as Kids, Drugs and the Law.
Ms. Steffner is the principal of Hunterdon Central Regional High School and served in the same capacity at Colts Neck High School and Hackettstown High School, where she received a grant from the US Department of Education to develop a Random Student Drug Testing Program. The Hackettstown model has been recognized by the US Department of Education as a model program. She has appeared on CNN, The Today Show, ABC News and News 12 New Jersey on the topic of random student drug testing.
Following a complimentary sandwich buffet from 5:15-6 p.m., the program begins at 6 p.m.
Teachers who attend the entire program will receive professional development hours. Latecomers and those who leave before the evening concludes are not eligible for professional development credit.
Admission is free, but a refundable deposit of $20 per person is required. Please make checks payable to the New Jersey State Bar Foundation; no cash or purchase orders can be accepted. Payment must accompany each registration. To obtain a registration form, contact Florence Nathan at 732-937-7518 or e-mail fnathan@njsbf.org . The deadline to register is February 25.
Deposit checks will be returned to those who attend the seminar and to those who give 72 hours’ notice of inability to attend. Checks from registrants who do not attend and fail to give adequate advance notice will be used to defray seminar expenses and will be forfeited.
The seminars are made possible by funding from the IOLTA Fund of the Bar of New Jersey. The remaining entry in the series is “The Teen Brain: What Were You Thinking?” on April 23. Separate checks are required for each attendee and each seminar.
Founded in 1958, the New Jersey State Bar Foundation is the educational and philanthropic arm of the New Jersey State Bar Association. The Bar Foundation’s mission is to promote public understanding of the law through a free, comprehensive public education program. Among its activities, the Foundation conducts seminars and conflict resolution training, publishes materials, operates a videotape loan library and speakers bureau, and coordinates elementary, middle and high school mock trial competitions. For more information about its programs and publications, visit online at www.njsbf.org or call 1-800-FREE-LAW.
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