PALESTINE — The Palestine Independent School District will now be screening for K2 and so-called “bath salts” as part of its random drug testing program of students participating in extracurricular activities.

During Monday’s regular meeting, the PISD’s board of trustees unanimously approved an amendment to the district’s drug-testing policy, adding testing for the two new substances.

The district already tests for the following substances: alcohol; performance-enhancing substances, including anabolic steroids; marijuana metabolites; cocaine metabolites; methaqualone; MDMA/MDA (Ecstasy); inhalants; benzodiazeprines; phencyclidine; methadone; barbiturates; propoxyphene; amphetamines; opiates; and metabolites of any other substance.

The PISD has budgeted slightly more than $6,500 for the 2012-13 school year to administer the program which primarily tests high school students, but additionally tests some middle school students.

Students participating in extracurricular activities or having a parking permit at Palestine High School are included as participants in the random selection process.

PISD Superintendent Jason Marshall said roughly 25 students are randomly selected each month by the company contracting with the district to do its testing.

During the 2010-11 school year, Marshall said 394 PISD students were tested, with only 3 percent of those (12 students) having a positive test. Last school year, 453 students were tested, with 1 percent (five students) having a positive test, according to the PISD chief.

A student receiving a confirmed positive drug test is suspended from extracurricular activities for 30 days under the PISD’s policy. A second confirmed drug test results in a 90-day suspension from those activities, according to the district’s policy.

Students, however, who agree to meet “at least twice” with a campus-approved counselor can have their suspensions shortened, according to the policy.

During Monday’s meeting, there was some discussion among trustees concerning whether the district should pay for such counseling sessions.

Trustees Michael Bennett and Dyna Tutt publicly voiced their belief the district should not expend funds for that purpose. Board member Dana Staples expressed the opinion that perhaps the district should assist needy students in funding those sessions.

“I don’t think it should be our responsibility,” Bennett said about the district expending funds to pay for counseling for students attempting to have their suspensions shortened. “...I’d rather spend that money on students who are doing right than students who are doing wrong.”

On Wednesday, Marshall told the Herald-Press that he believed the PISD board had reached a consensus in not wanting the district to pay for those counseling sessions. The superintendent, however, did say he believed the PISD should assist any student in locating a counselor if they request the district’s help.

K2 is a synthetic form of marijuana which causes hallucinations in some users and has gained growing popularity among young people and street users.

Bath salts is an informal street name for a family of designer drugs often containing substituted cathinones which have effects similar to amphetamine and cocaine. The white crystals can resemble legal bathing products such as Epsom salts.

Marshall said the PISD has added K2 and bath salts to its list of tested substances since “those have become more prevalent” among teenagers.

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Paul Stone may be contacted via e-mail at pstone@palestineherald.com