The DOE's pilot program to use dogs to sniff out drugs in public schools is about to begin at Kalama Intermediate School on Maui. But the new program must not be seen as the sole solution in the fight to keep drugs out of schools.

At best, using drug-sniffing dogs should be seen as a last resort and just one small component in the war on drugs.

Nothing replaces strong drug prevention education programs and a sense of safety and personal responsibility that must come from both school and home.

One of the reasons many schools are turning to drug dogs is that in recent years legal protections for student privacy have eroded. The canine inspection industry has expanded throughout the country after successful court victories against the ACLU on privacy matters. When the Supreme Court held that students had limited rights in school and that schools didn't need probable cause to bring in search dogs, the drug-dog trade exploded on the Mainland.

Does it mean the dogs are an effective deterrent? The results at best are inconclusive.

If the program is to go beyond the pilot program stage in Hawai'i, officials must proceed cautiously so that the Department of Education can establish its own privacy guidelines that ensure that a campus' ideal environment — one that nurtures learning and safety — is unspoiled.

For example, in the pilot program, dogs aren't allowed to sniff people or backpacks, or go inside classrooms and cars. They are able to go into cafeterias and gyms, lockers and restrooms, and around the school grounds.

Teachers and administrators will have some time to see if the dogs make a difference. But they shouldn't think the dogs will do all the work.

Winning the battle against drugs still requires a human touch.