The right course for steroid-free schools

The Illinois High School Association's board recently took a needed first step in setting penalties for students found to have tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs next year.

Steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs, many of which are not regulated, can do permanent damage to our children, and the IHSA is to be commended for putting our student athletes on notice that it intends to try to protect them from their own bad decisions.

In essence, a student who tests positive for performance-enhancing drugs would be found to be ineligible to compete for 365 days from the date the results were reported to the student and the school.

But an athlete could apply for reinstatement in 90 days after the completion of an approved educational program and after another test shows the student is drug-free. This second chance sends the right message to our young people.

We are concerned, however, about how the IHSA plans to tackle punishment for the schools that enroll students caught taking these drugs.

Team or school penalties would be determined by the IHSA executive director on a case-by-case basis. We believe that punishing teammates, or coaches, or an entire school for the actions of perhaps one or two wrong-headed students, and their parents, is something that should be avoided when possible.

Still, we recognize that there likely will be some misguided coaches, trainers or administrators out there who encourage performance-enhancing drugs by their coded language or body language and so penalizing an entire school program might be needed.

But leaving such a drastic decision that will affect so many people in the short span of high school years solely in the hands of one person is not wise.

We urge the IHSA board to revise its plan to allow for a committee -- perhaps two staff members and a school representative -- to serve as investigators who probe a school's role, if any, in cases of positive drug tests. The committee could then offer recommendations on school punishments to the executive director.

School officials, furthermore, ought to have a clear, quick process spelled out in advance for appealing any penalty they find wrong or onerous.

We know many more details still are to come in the next few months. We commend IHSA officials for planning to dig into those details with our students in our schools in May.

If all our teens listen, learn and understand the permanent physical damage these drugs can cause as well as the glory it could cost them if they are caught, perhaps we'll have fewer bad test results when the random testing begins next fall during playoffs.

In any event, our students and our school communities deserve a testing program that doesn't penalize many for the actions of a few. They deserve a testing program they believe is fair for all.