PRICE OF JUSTICE COSTLY FOR SCHOOLS

Drug Ruling Cheats Safety

The decision Wednesday by the Lockney Independent School District to
halt its legal battle over a mandatory drug testing policy is
understandable, but unfortunate just the same.

The decision is unfortunate for students and parents, who now have one
less method to combat the damaging influence of drugs in their school
and community.

The decision is unfortunate for LISD school officials, who rather than
being permitted to determine the district's need for such a policy
must legally justify conducting a drug test based on "reasonable
suspicion." The decision also is unfortunate for the justice system,
which failed to address the constitutionality of the issue and only
added to the ambiguity of school authority.

LISD officials had little choice but to settle with the American Civil
Liberties Union, which filed a lawsuit in opposition to the district's
mandatory drug testing policy on behalf of Larry Tannahill, whose son
did not participate in the testing.

Money was the reason. The escalating cost of litigation was too much
for the district to assume.

As part of the settlement agreement, LISD can only enact a drug
testing policy with the consent of students and parents, in other
words voluntary, or based on "reasonable suspicion."

The settlement agreement may end the controversy for now in Lockney,
but it does little to address the authority of individual schools to
protect the safety and welfare of students.

The U.S. Supreme Court previously has ruled that similar drug testing
policies for students participating in extracurricular athletic
activities was not unconstitutional, but applying such policies to all
extracurricular activities and the student body as a whole is another
story.

The harmful effects of illegal drug use are not limited to one segment
of the student population, and a policy that is declared
constitutional for one student group logically should be
constitutional for another on the basis of the safety and welfare of
students.

The stipulation of "reasonable suspicion" is a vague and nondescript
requirement that merely opens the door for additional litigation.

Individual school districts are best at determining the need for - and
the duration of - a mandatory drug testing policy.

Thanks to the cost of justice and a justice system that has skirted
the issue rather than offer a definitive ruling, the cost of justice
may result in the hesitancy of school districts across the nation to
enact policies focused on the safety and welfare of students rather
than constitutional bias.