A high school in the Verde Valley is considering randomly drug testing some of its student athletes. But it would not be the first school to do so.

The Paradise Valley Unified School District was the first district in the state to conduct random drug testing of athletes. The Chandler Unified School District followed more than a decade later.

Now, Mingus Union High School in Cottonwood is exploring random drug testing.

Mingus Union Superintendent Mike Westcott says the testing could cover all events sanctioned by the Arizona Interscholastic Association.

"Theatre is AIA sanctioned, cheer is AIA sanctioned — along with the ones you’d expect basketball, football, baseball. There’s actually a very large number of what we would think of as extracurricular activities that are sanctioned by the AIA," he said.

Westcott says some parents had asked the school to explore random drug testing. Terry Locke is with the Chandler Unified School District. He says Chandler started in 2005.

"The program is very popular with parents because they view it as a preventative method for their children," he said.

Superintendent Westcott says next steps could include hosting community meetings in the spring.