DENVER, Colo. -- The ACE Community Challenge Charter School opened its doors 15 years ago, and it has been a charter school for eight.

The school has a unique student body. School administrators said some of them could be called "throwaways." The students are typically ones who have not attended school for one or two years at a time, or kids who have been expelled from other schools.

The school is the first to admit that many of their students have substance abuse problems. They said 96 percent of them had problems in the past and many of them are daily marijuana users.

The goal at ACE is to keep these kids away from drugs and in the classroom but the best way to do that isn't always clear. The school's principal, Eloy Chavez, said that's why ACE applied for a federal grant that funds random drug testing.

"This is a voluntary program. What I like about the program is we are not required to impose consequences if kids test positive for substance-abuse," said Chavez.

Parents or students opt into the random drug-testing program. The school said they planned on testing a small number of random students several times a month.

If a student tests positive for an illegal substance, the results remain confidential and the student will be given free substance abuse counseling.

The program will start in the fall.

The Department of Education said some 4,000 educational and health entities are participants. Since 2003, $40 million have gone to develop, implement or expand the program.