Texas lawmakers have reached a deal to slash steroid testing of public high school athletes to less than half of the current program.
But Texas would still test thousands of athletes over the next two years.
The deal has been worked out by House and Senate members negotiating the 2010-2011 budget.
The current $6 million program was designed to test up to 50,000 students by the end of the current school year. The tentative deal for the new program would slash funding to $2 million over the next two years.
The state tested 190 Lewisville Independent School District athletes, and district athletic director Randy Mayes said not one of the athletes tested positive.
Lewisville ISD parents said they're OK with the state cutting back on funding of the steroid-screening process.
"I'm glad they're cutting that instead of the drug testing program," parent Heather Olsen said. "I'd much rather them cut that program because it has had so many negatives."
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Turns out, Lewisville ISD has another district-sponsored program that tests all students in extracurricular activities for other types of drugs.
The House and Senate have not yet voted on a final budget.
Texas has the largest high school testing program in the country. The first 29,000 tests produced only 11 confirmed cases of steroid use, causing some critics to say the program was a waste of time and money.
