The school board in Flin Flon, Man., is considering a policy that would require high school students to be tested for drugs and alcohol.

In a first for the province, school board chair Trish Sattelberger said the board is gathering public input on a draft for a drug-testing policy. She said portable testing devices are being used in the workplace and suggested the threat of testing could serve as a deterrent for students.

"We want to try and find a way where we can figure out who is doing this … and possibly get them the help that they need when they're young," she said.

Sattelberger said there are no serious problems with students being high or drunk in class, but students have been found under the influence of alcohol or drugs at other school functions.

Random testing could be a way to deter such behaviour, she said, but the board needs to further examine the legal issues.

"It has been used in workplaces," she said. "It has never officially been used in a Manitoba high school and this is why … we want to look into legalities of it."