Charter school given U.S. grant for drug testing

Franklin Towne Charter High School in the Lower Northeast has received a $131,290 federal grant to conduct random student drug tests.

Officials from the White House's Office of National Drug Control Policy and the U.S. Department of Education announced the award yesterday. Franklin Towne, 5301 Tacony Ave., is among 49 schools and educational programs sharing $5.8 million in program grants. The only other grant awarded in Pennsylvania was to Schuylkill County's North Schuylkill School District, which received $137,448.

Since the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the random student drug tests in 2002, the U.S. Department of Education has been awarding funds to schools and health programs to develop, implement or expand the testing. - Martha Woodall