Diboll ISD will use a new federal drug-prevention grant to test more students and provide follow-up counseling as well as expanded drug education.

High school Principal Daniel Lopez said the $143,453 grant from the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy and the Department of Education includes money for professional counseling. Up to now, parents of students who tested positive were simply referred to counseling professionals.

"This will actually pay for that help," Lopez said, calling that part of the grant the "missing ipece" in the school district's anti-drug efforts.

The new grant replaces an effort with a budget of about $8,000. "This allows testing a larger number of kids," he said. All students in extra curricular activities, including athletics and band, are subject to testing. Parents are given the option at the beginning of the school year to "opt in" to the testing program for children who do not participate in extra activities.

Diboll's anti-drug policy is not intended to be punitive. The idea is not to catch "bad guys" and punish them, Lopez said. If a child does "stray," the testing "gives the kid a chance to get on the right path," he said. That's where the counseling is valuable.

Lopez said the district still is seeking bids on the testing, and he hopes the grant will allow testing for steroids. In last year's program, a test for steroids cost $99; a tset for all the other chemicals was $18.

Substances tested for include amphetamines, barbiturates, marijuana, cocaine, alcohol, LSD, opiates, PCP, methadone, and prescription drugs such as Valium, Librium and Darvon.

The testing can be a weapon for the students, as well. It can help students involved in extracurriculars resist peer pressure, Lopez said, and it gives parents the power to take control of their children.

"It has caused kids to rethink their options," Lopez said.

Lopez was interviewed prior to his resignation from the district, which took effect today.