BARRINGTON — Alcohol breath tests may not solve the problem of underage drinking, but they will eliminate students who show up drunk at school dances, according to Police Chief John LaCross.

In an interview yesterday, LaCross said he took issue with a recent statement by Steven Brown, executive director of the Rhode Island Affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union. Brown claimed that submitting teenagers to an alcohol breath test prior to admission at school dances would violate their privacy rights.

LaCross said that testing students will reduce the number of students drinking before extracurricular activities. Four Barrington High School students were suspended for five days last month after they showed up drunk at a school dance. At least two of the students were athletes, which makes them ineligible for practice for 10 days and for all games for 15 days.

“Participating in an extracurricular activity is a privilege, not a right,” the chief said yesterday. “Attendance is voluntary. Therefore, if the student chooses to attend the dance, [he] understands in advance that [he] will be subjected to a breath test as part of the policy.”

Brown, in a letter released Friday, said that the district’s current policy, which tests only those students who appear to be impaired, is a reasonable approach. The existing policy, Brown said, recognizes that the privacy rights of students should not be “cavalierly ignored,” and that intrusion on those rights should be limited to circumstances when officials suspect that a student has been drinking.

LaCross, however, said that 16 school districts in Connecticut use breath tests before extracurricular activities because those activities are considered voluntary, and he said that a couple of nearby school districts in Massachusetts, including Seekonk, have implemented similar policies without legal opposition.

LaCross said that he agreed with Brown that breath tests do not solve the deeper social problem of underage drinking, but said it does address the issue of teenage drinking while attending school dances: “Isn’t that the goal to provide a safe and healthy environment for all students?”

“If this new policy prevents one teen from getting sick from alcohol,” LaCross said. If it prevents “an accident to or from the dance and saves one life, then the policy is well worth it.”

Underage drinking is a community responsibility, the chief said, adding that he will continue to meet with school officials to discuss the issue.

lborg@projo.com